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Michael George Bichard, Baron Bichard (born 31 January 1947) is a former public servant in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...
, first in local and then as a
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leader ...
in central government. He was director of the
Institute for Government The Institute for Government (IfG) is a British independent think tank which aims to improve government effectiveness through research and analysis. Based at 2 Carlton Gardens in central London and founded as a charity in 2008, it was initiall ...
, currently serves as one of its first fellows, and was chair of the
Design Council The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom charity incorporated by Royal Charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better". It was instrumental in the pr ...
. He was a created a
crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opp ...
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
on 24 March 2010. He is an advisor to The Key Support Services Limited, which provide leadership and management support to school leaders and governors. He became chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in 2013.


Career

Bichard served as the chief executive of Brent
Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
between 1980 and 1986, and then of
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a Counties of England, county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town ...
County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...
between 1986 and 1990, when he was appointed chief executive of the Benefits Agency. In 1995, Bichard was made
Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
of the Department for Employment. When it merged with the
Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Departme ...
(DfE) to form the
Department for Education and Employment The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England. T ...
(DfEE), he became Permanent Secretary of the combined department, under
Gillian Shephard Gillian Patricia Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, (''née'' Watts; born 22 January 1940), is a British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk from 1987 to 2005. Shephard served as a Cabin ...
, and then, post-
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...
,
David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...
. He became extremely close to Blunkett, even at one point intervening personally – according to the National press – to ensure that details of an affair that Blunkett was conducting with his Private Secretary should not become public. During his time as Permanent Secretary, he introduced several modernising reforms to the Department, notably in bringing its use of information technology and new media up to date. He oversaw some significant changes to the education policy landscape, such as the introduction of the
Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Mar ...
to fund
further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. ...
and
apprenticeships Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
. In May 2001, he retired from the
Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leader ...
, when DfEE and the Department for Social Security were split into the Department for Education and Skills and
Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
.


After retirement

In September 2001, Bichard was appointed Rector of The University of the Arts London and also served as chairman of the
Design Council The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom charity incorporated by Royal Charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better". It was instrumental in the pr ...
. In 2004, the
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
David Blunkett (previously Bichard's minister as Secretary of State for Education and Employment) appointed Bichard to chair an inquiry into the " Soham murders" of two 10-year-old girls; the inquiry has since been known as the "
Bichard Inquiry The Soham murders were a double child murder committed in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England on 4 August 2002. The victims were two 10-year-old girls, Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman, who were lured into the home of a local resident and ...
". Bichard was non-executive chairman of RSe Consulting from 2003 to 2008. RSe Consulting provided strategic and management consulting services to local government and became part of Tribal Group Plc in 2008. He was appointed chairman of the
Legal Services Commission The Legal Services Commission (LSC) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Justice which was responsible for the operational administration of legal aid in England and Wales between 2000 and 2013. Overview The LSC was re ...
in April 2005. There he introduced a range of reforming measures aimed at modernising the legal aid system. He was also chairman of the educational charity Rathbone. Bichard left these two roles in September 2008 when he became the Director of the
Institute for Government The Institute for Government (IfG) is a British independent think tank which aims to improve government effectiveness through research and analysis. Based at 2 Carlton Gardens in central London and founded as a charity in 2008, it was initiall ...
. He became chairman of the board of FILMCLUB, a nationwide after-school film club scheme which is free to state primary and secondary schools. He has been an advisor to Ten Group, the lifestyle concierge and professional support services company, since 2010, supporting the development of its school leader and school governor support services – The Key and Ten Governor Support. Bichard came in for criticism in October 2012 when he suggested that retired people should contribute to society by doing community work in order to help the state or lose their pension. Robert Oxley of the Tax Payers Alliance said "it's a bit rich from a civil servant who was able to retire early to lecture us on working during retirement". He became chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in 2013. He is chair of the international editorial board of Public Money & Management and chairs the journal's annual PMM Live! event. Following a governance scandal at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, in December 2021, the RICS announced Bichard would lead a six-month review into its governance and future purpose. The 68-page Bichard review, recommending sweeping reforms, was published on 21 June 2022. Bichard said: "My aim has been to help create a new sense of purpose and direction so that RICS can once more stand tall as an exemplar professional institution." In August 2022, Bichard was appointed as interim senior independent governor through to 31 December 2023, responsible for scrutinising the actions of the RICS' governing council and committees. In April 2022, he was announced as the new Chancellor of the
University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...
, succeeding Baroness Rennie Fritchie.


Honours and peerage

Bichard was appointed as a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...
(KCB) in the 1999 Birthday Honours. On the recommendation of the
House of Lords Appointments Commission The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It has two roles: *to recommend at least two people a year for appointment as non-party-political life peers who sit on the ...
, he was created a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
on 24 March 2010, as Baron Bichard, ''of
Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a popula ...
in the County of
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a Counties of England, county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town ...
''. He was introduced in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
on 29 March,House of Lords – Minute
/ref> where he sits on the crossbenches.


Offices held


References


External links


The Bichard Report. Retrieved 20/2/2009The Bichard Inquiry's official siteThe Legal Services Commission websiteRSe Consulting company websiteInstitute for Government websiteTen Group company website

The Social Care Institute for Excellence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bichard, Michael Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Employment Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Education and Employment Living people Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People's peers Crossbench life peers 1947 births People from Nailsworth Life peers created by Elizabeth II