Board members are appointed by the Senedd Commission for a fixed term of five years. Membership of the current Board is outlined below.
In accordance with good practice and in complying with the provisions of section 2 of National Assembly for Wales (Remuneration) Measure 2010 (the Measure), members of the Remuneration Board have declared relevant interests in order for the Board to operate with independence, openness and inclusiveness. This information is current as of 5 April 2023, and will be updated if any changes are made.
Declarations of Interests by Members of the Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd
Dr. Elizabeth Haywood (Chair)
Elizabeth is an experienced Non-Executive Director and Chair. She was previously a Board member of Natural Resources Wales and Chair of its Flood Risk Management Committee, a Board member of Scottish Power Energy Networks, Hendre Group, Leonard Cheshire, an independent member of the Welsh Audit Office’s Remuneration Board, and inaugural Chair of WCVA Services Ltd. She chaired the Welsh Government’s Ministerial Task Force on City Regions.
Her early career was spent in the European Parliament and the Welsh Development Agency, before being appointed Director of CBI Wales, Communications Director of the Association of Train Operating Companies and then running an executive search firm based in Cardiff and London.
She has an economics degree from Cardiff University, a PhD and an honorary doctorate from Swansea, was the recipient of the first Welsh Woman of the Year Award and is an honorary Fellow of Trinity St David’s University.
Elizabeth was appointed as Chair of the Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd in June 2020.
Michael Redhouse
Michael Redhouse is currently Principal of EMES Consulting, which he founded in 2002, helping many major organisations with their remuneration and benefits issues.
Michael graduated in mathematics from the Open University, and his career included spells as a Partner at Ernst and Young, and as Employment Policy Director at Diageo. Michael served as a Trustee of the APEX Trust, which supports offenders returning to work, and as Chair of Trustees of St. Luke’s Hospice in Harrow.
Michael was a Member of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which looks into pay, professional duties and working time of school teachers in England and Wales and reports to the Secretary of State.
Michael has been a member of the Independent Remuneration Board since 2015.
Dame Jane Roberts
Jane is Visiting Fellow in Public Leadership at The Open University Business School.
Jane was Leader of the London Borough of Camden Council from 2000 to 2005 following which she has served in a range of non-executive roles including as Chair of the Councillors Commission for the Department of Communities and Local Government, Chair of Parenting UK, a member of the Ofsted board, Chair of New Local Government Network and currently Chair of the charities, Living Streets and Stammering Children.
She is also a member of the Advisory Group of the Welsh Centre for Public Policy. Jane was appointed a DBE in 2004. Professionally, she is a medical doctor and is an Honorary Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with experience of senior healthcare management in the NHS.
Jane has published a number of academic articles in paediatrics, psychiatry and politics. She co-edited ‘The Politics of Attachment’ (1996) with Sebastian Kraemer and is the author of ‘Losing Political Office’ (2017). She was awarded a PhD at The Open University (2021).
Jane has been a member of the Independent Remuneration Board since 2015.
Hugh Widdis
Hugh Widdis is the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Justice. He took up the position in April 2024. He has 24 years of experience in parliamentary, government and legal services.
Hugh served from 2015 to 2024 as the Head of the Government Legal Service for Northern Ireland, and Departmental Solicitor for the Northern Ireland Executive. During 2017-18 he served as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance.
Prior to joining the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Hugh served as Director of Legal and Governance Services for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
He has previously worked in research, and as a barrister in private practice. He has also worked in the Scottish Parliament’s legal office, and on discrimination law in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. He was a member of the Senedd Cymru Commission’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee from 2012 until 2019.
Hugh is a barrister and member of the Bar of Ireland and the Bar of Northern Ireland. Hugh is a Governor at Banbridge Academy, a member of the Independent Remuneration Board for Senedd Cymru, and a member of the board of the Chief Executives Forum.