News story: The New Year’s Honours 2014

In total 1,195 people have received an award:

• 1,038 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level: 329 at BEM, 468 at MBE and 241 at OBE
• 74% of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity
• there are 610 successful women candidates in the list, representing 51% of the total; women candidates include 16 Dames and 39 CBEs
• 5% of the successful candidates come from ethnic minority communities

Among the well-known names being honoured there is:

• a Companion of Honour for the composer and conductor, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
• a knighthood for the sculptor, Antony Gormley
• a CBE for the ballet dancer, Carlos Acosta
• a CBE for David Bernstein, lately Chair of the Football Association
• a CBE for Ann Jones for her service to tennis since winning Wimbledon in 1969
• a CBE for the actor, Michael Crawford for charitable and philanthropic services
• a CBE for Nicholas Parsons for charitable services
• an OBE for the Arsenal Ladies footballer, Rachel Yankey
• an OBE for the actress, Lynda Bellingham for service to charitable giving
• an OBE for the singer, Katherine Jenkins
• an MBE for the DJ, Pete Tong
• an MBE for the writer and actress, Ruth Peet (aka Ruth Jones)

Women in the New Year Honours 2014

For the first time since the Order of the British Empire was founded in 1917, there are more women on the list than men (611 to 584, or 51% female).

Senior women in this list receiving damehoods include:

• Professor Susan Bailey, President, Royal College of Psychiatrists
• Professor Julia Slingo, Chief Scientist, Meteorological Office
• Asha Khemka, Principal and Chief Executive, West Nottinghamshire College
• Alison Carnwath, Chairman, Land Securities
• Professor Seona Reid, lately Director, Glasgow School of Art
• the actress Penelope Timson (aka Penelope Keith), for her service to the arts and to charity

There is also a Companion of Honour for Baroness Onora O’Neill for her service to philosophy and public policy.

The proportion of higher honours awarded to women has doubled in the last 10 years.

Recognising work in local communities

The re-introduction of the British Empire Medal (BEM) has continued to provide the opportunity to recognise an even greater number of people playing their part in their local communities. In total, 74% of awards in the New Year’s Honours List are for people who are actively engaged in charitable or voluntary work within their local community. Some notable examples are:

• Trevor Jarvis, Ambassador for Dementia with the Alzheimer’s Society, who has used his own personal experiences to improve the lives of people affected by dementia
• Christina Selby, who founded Hats4Heroes in 2010 and has since sent nearly 10,000 knitted hats, each containing a chocolate bar, to the British forces in Afghanistan as a way of boosting morale
• Susan Lomas, who has spent 20 years ensuring community cohesion as a volunteer supporting the Appleby Gypsy and Traveller Horse Fair in Cumbria

The MBEs include awards to Barry and Margaret Mizen, Joint Founders of the Jimmy Mizen Foundation, set up to help young people play a positive role within their communities as a positive way to remember their son, who was murdered in an incident of violent crime.

Charity work in the New Year Honours 2014

Philanthropy has once again been a prominent theme amongst the recipients. In particular, the recommendations include:

• a knighthood for Roger De Haan who has given £49 million over the last 7 years to a range of education, arts and community organisations in the UK and overseas
• a knighthood for Alan Parker, Founder and Chairman, Brunswick Group LLP, who has made a number of generous personal gifts to Save the Children in addition to his formal role as Chair
• a CBE for John Apthorp who set up the Milly Apthorp Trust in 1982 and has since contributed over £25 million to local charities in Hertfordshire

Honours for parliamentary or political services

The awards recommended by the Parliamentary and Political Services Committee, chaired by Lord Spicer, include:

• a damehood for Rosemary Butler, Presiding Officer, National Assembly for Wales
• a knighthood for Peter Luff, MP for Mid-Worcester
• a knighthood for Richard Ottaway, MP for Croydon South
• a knighthood for the Rt Hon Kevin Barron, MP for Rother Valley

Education in the New Year Honours 2014

The Education Committee has recognised 29 headteachers in total, including knighthoods and damehoods for the following 6 head teachers:

• Rachel De Souza, lately Executive Principal, Ormiston Victory Academy, Norwich
• Alison Peacock, Headteacher, Wroxham Primary School, Hertfordshire
• Kathy August, Executive Director of Education, The Education Fellowship and lately principal, Manchester Academy
• Michael Wilkins, Chief Executive, Outwood Grange Family of Schools
• Michael Griffiths, Headmaster, Northampton School for Boys and President, Association of School and College Leaders
• Craig Tunstall, Executive Headteacher, Gipsy Hill Federation, London

In total, about 10% of honours are for work in education. The education BEMs include Mrs Patricia Madden who has given over 25 years’ voluntary service to the school community at Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School in Bristol.

Health in the New Year Honours 2014

Health makes up 7% of all honours. There is a rich breadth of vocations recognised within the health sector; recommendations at MBE include 6 nurses, 4 GPs and an anaesthetist. In addition to the damehood for Professor Susan Bailey, there is a DBE for Professor Pamela Shaw, Professor of Neurology, Sheffield.

The other awards in health include a knighthood for David Dalton, Chief Executive, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust; and a knighthood for Professor Peter Ratcliffe, Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine.

Other awards include a CBE for Julie Bailey, campaigner for Cure the NHS, who pressed for an independent inquiry into the care at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Industry and the economy in the New Year Honours 2014

Industry and the economy make up 11% of the awards. In addition to the DBE for Alison Carnwath, the awards include:

• a knighthood for Ian Cheshire, Chief Executive, Kingfisher plc
• a knighthood for Paul Tucker, lately Deputy Governor, Bank of England
• a knighthood for Michael Gifford, lately Lord Mayor of London
• a CBE for Karren Brady, Vice Chair, West Ham Football Club, for her services to entrepreneurship and women in business

There are a number of entrepreneurs recognised, including:

• an OBE for Michael Acton-Smith, Chief Executive and Founder, Mind Candy
• an OBE for Priya Lakhani, Founder, Masala Masala and a member of the Entrepreneurs Forum
• an OBE for Penny Power, the Founder of Ecademy, promoting entrepreneurship in social and digital development
• MBEs for twin sisters Lisa and Helen Tse, who founded Sweet Mandarin
• an MBE for Michael Hayman, entrepreneur and founder of StartUp Britain

Science and technology in the New Year Honours 2014

Science and technology make up 2% of the total. In addition to the DBE for Professor Julia Slingo, the awards include:

• a DBE for Professor Frances Kirwan, Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford
• a knighthood for Professor Richard Blundell, Professor of Economics, University College London
• a knighthood for Professor Adrian Bird, Buchanan Professor of Genetics, University of Edinburgh

Law and order in the New Year Honours 2014

In law and order, the awards include:

• a CBE for Trevor Pearce, lately Director General, Serious and Organised Crime Agency
• a CBE for Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, lately President of the Law Society
• a CBE for Professor Harvey McGregor QC

The recommendations for state servants include:

• a knighthood for Keir Starmer, lately Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Prosecution Service
• a knighthood for Derek Jones, Permanent Secretary, Welsh government
• a knighthood for The Right Honourable Sir Christopher Geidt, The Queen’s Private Secretary

Amongst the state BEM recipients is Mrs Florence Devine, Verger of the Church of the Royal Regiment of Artillery in Larkhill Garrison, who has worked tirelessly to support others through pastoral services to Armed Forces personnel.

There are also knighthoods for Julian Seymour and Mark Worthington, who supported Lady Thatcher throughout her post-office life.

Sport in the New Year Honours 2014

Awards for sport make up 4% of the total. In addition to the awards to Ann Jones and Rachel Yankey, there is an OBE for David Bedford, a prominent figure of British athletics and lately Race Director of the London Marathon for over 20 years; and there is an MBE for Katy McLean, captain of the Women’s England rugby team.

Finally, there is also a knighthood for Professor Godfrey Palmer, Professor Emeritus, Heriot-Watt University; a world renowned food scientist and a life-long human rights activist, he was named among the 100 greatest black Britons.

Further information about the New Year Honours 2014

Nominations for honours are received by the Cabinet Office from the public and from government departments and passed to 1 of 9 independent committees for consideration. The committees’ decisions are ratified by a central honours committee (chaired by Sir Bob Kerslake, Head of the Civil Service and including the chairs of each honours committee) and sent to the Queen via the Prime Minister.

Find out more about the honours process.

The 9 independent committees are:

• Science and Technology
• Arts and Media
• Education
• Health
• Sport
• Economy
• Community, Voluntary and Local Service
• State
• Parliamentary and Political Service
• Philanthropy

The committees decide which level of award is appropriate for each successful nomination from:

• Knight/Dame: a pre-eminent contribution which would often be at national level, and which will be recognised around the country as inspirational and significant
• CBE: a prominent national role, or a leading role in regional affairs
• OBE: a distinguished regional or county-wide role in any field
• MBE: achievement or service in a community which makes a real impact and sets an example to others
• BEM: achievement or contribution of a “hands-on” service to a community at a very local level; or a contribution that has made a real difference in a community but that has been achieved over a relatively short duration

This is the first time that more women have received honours than men; previously the highest proportion of female recipients was 47%.

In the 2004 New Year’s honours list 34% of recipients were women, in 1994 the percentage was 28% and in 1974 it was 17%.

40% of awards at CBE level and above are to women. This figure has nearly doubled in 10 years.