The Minister of State for the Environment, Lord Henley, has announced the appointment of a new Chair and four new members to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.
- Professor Gabrielle Hawksworth has been appointed as the new Chair to succeed Professor Jon Ayres, who retires at the end of 2011 after six years in the post
- Professor Richard Shore has been appointed to provide advice on ecotoxicology matters;
- Dr Martin Hare will advise on agronomy and plant pathology issues
- Mr Richard Davis has been appointed to advise on agronomy and plant pathology matters; and
- Dr Simon Wilkinson will advise on toxicology issues.
The appointments are for an initial term of three years and were made through a process of open competition in accordance with Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) rules.
Three members stood down from the Committee in July 2011: Professor Robert Smith, Dr Martin McPherson and Dr Alastair Leake (Deputy Chair). There were two further vacancies caused by the deaths of Professor James Parry and Dr David Ray during 2010.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PESTICIDES (ACP)
Retiring Chairman
Professor Jon Ayres OBE is Professor of Environmental & Occupational Medicine at the University of Birmingham. He has long experience of membership and chairing government advisory committees having been a member of the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP - DoH) since its inception in 1991 and chairman for the many years. He has been a member of the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS - Defra) since 1994 and a member of the NSF Committee for COPD. He is a Member of the Ethics Committee, DSTL, Porton Down. He has been Chairman of the ACP for almost six years. He received an OBE in HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2011.
New Chair
Professor Gabrielle (Gay) Hawksworth is Professor of Molecular Toxicology at the University of Aberdeen. She has been an expert Member of the ACP, advising on toxicology matters since 2005, and is the Chair of the ACP’s Medical and Toxicology Panel.
New Members
Professor Richard Shore is a vertebrate ecotoxicologist and Head of Site at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) at Lancaster. He is a senior researcher investigating the environmental impacts of contaminants, and has an Honorary Chair at Queen’s University Belfast.
Dr Martin Hare is Principal Lecturer at Harper Adams University College and Chair of its Research Standards Degree Committee. He is an active researcher in pesticide efficacy.
Mr Richard Davis is a retired Director of the Chemicals Regulation Directorate, who graduated in plant pathology and followed with a successful career in research in the use of pesticides in horticultural and agricultural crops and in pesticide regulation.
Dr Simon Wilkinson is a lecturer at the Medical Toxicology Centre, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. He researches into routes of exposure to harmful chemicals, especially dermal absorption and metabolism and in silico modelling of percutaneous absorption.
