Sir William Henry Callaghan (born 19 May 1948) is a British trade unionist who is 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 ...
, the organisation responsible for administering
legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to c ...
.
Education
Callaghan went to Orange Hill Grammar School and was educated at
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...
, where he read philosophy, politics and economics, and the
University of Kent at Canterbury
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
, where he gained an MA in economics.
Career
Callaghan's early career was in the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...
(TUC). He joined the Economic Department as a junior researcher in 1971, eventually becoming the chief economist and head of the Economic and Social Affairs Department in 1979. He worked on a wide range of topics, from incomes policies in the 1970s to developing the TUC's policy on partnership at work in the 1990s.
NGOs and QUANGOs
Callaghan served on the
Low Pay Commission
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is an independent body in the United Kingdom, established in 1997, that advises the government on the National Minimum Wage. It is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and I ...
from 1997 to 2000 and played a key role in the introduction of the
National Minimum Wage
The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom.. E McGaughey, ''A Casebook on Labour Law'' (Hart 2019) ch 6(1) From 1 April 2022 this was £9.50 for people age 23 and over, £9.18 for 21- to 22-year-olds, £6. ...
in April 1999. From 1 October 1999 – 30 September 2007 he was Chair of the
Health and Safety Commission
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) was a United Kingdom non-departmental public body. The HSC was created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). It was formally established on 31 July 1974. The Commission consisted of a chair ...
. The
Ladbroke Grove rail crash
The Ladbroke Grove rail crash (also known as the Paddington rail crash) was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove in London, England, when two passenger trains collided almost head-on after one of them had passed a ...
occurred on the second day of Sir Bill's term of office. He helped establish the public inquiry into the crash by Lord Cullen and championed subsequent improvements in rail safety.
He was instrumental in driving forward the 'Revitalising Health and Safety' initiative, which included director leadership of health and safety, workforce involvement and performance improvement targets. He strengthened the HSE's partnership with local authorities and reinvigorated their occupational health agenda, integrating this with the Government's plans to improve health, work and well-being.
Callaghan defended the role of the HSE in a 2006 article in ''The Guardian'', and spearheaded HSE's sensible risk campaign.
He has been involved in a number of aspects of economic and social research, serving on the ESRC's Research Priorities Advisory Committee. Callaghan was a member of the advisory board on the ESRC's influential Future of Work programme (2001–2004).
He has been Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee Centre for Risk and Regulation at
LSE since 2007.
He served as an independent member of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff review of higher education finance and pay data from October 2007 to December 2008. Following the
2007 release of Foot and Mouth virus from the Pirbright site, he led a review into the regulation of animal pathogens for
DEFRA, publishing the results on 13 December 2007.
Callaghan was appointed Chair 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 ...
from 1 September 2008. As part of this role he chairs the Finance and General Purposes Committee.
Callaghan has also served on the boards of the Basic Skills Agency and the
DTI's Fair Markets Board (2002–07). He has served as
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
since 2005. Callaghan is Chair of the British Occupational Health Research Foundation, and has previously served on the board of Business in The Community.
He is the current Chair of NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health).
He is also the current Chair of the
Marine Management Organisation
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is an executive non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, with responsibility for English waters. The MMO exists to make a significant cont ...
.
In academia
Callaghan was a Visiting Fellow of
Nuffield College
Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology ...
, Oxford from 1999 to 2007. He is also a Fellow of the Sunningdale Institute, part of the National School of Government.
Honours
In June 2007, Callaghan received a knighthood in the
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are pres ...
in recognition of his outstanding contribution to health and safety management at work.
Callaghan received a Distinguished Service Award from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), in August 2007. This was in recognition of his outstanding contribution to health and safety management at work in his role as Chair of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC).
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan, Bill
British trade unionists
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Alumni of the University of Kent
Knights Bachelor
1948 births
Living people