Key People at the Surveyor Ombudsman Service
The Member Board
What does the Surveyor Member Board do?
The key role of the Surveyor Member Board is to ensure that the Service is appropriately funded, to approve each Annual Budget and Annual Business Plan, to determine the scale of case fees and subscriptions to be applied against Members of the Service and to ensure that the Service adheres to the purpose and scope of the Surveyor Ombudsman as described in the terms of reference.
The Member Board is made up of nine independent representatives:
Baroness Maggie Jones
Maggie Jones sits in the House of Lords as Baroness Jones of Whitchurch. She has a history of involvement on housing issues and is currently the Chair of Circle 33 Housing Association and a member of the Board of Shelter - the housing charity. She frequently contributes to debates on housing in the Lords.
In addition, Maggie has an involvement in environmental and food issues. She is a member of the House of Lords Environment and Agriculture Committee and serves on the Board of the School Food Trust and WRAP - a waste and recycling body.
Prior to being appointed to the House of Lords Maggie was the Director of Policy and Public Affairs for UNISON.
Rosemary Carter
Rosemary Carter is a lay member of the Board. She is an experienced Solicitor and an accredited mediator with previous experience of complaints resolution and alternative redress mechanisms. Rosemary is a member of the Civil Mediation Council and a lay member of the Nursing & Midwifery Council, where she chairs their Governance Committee.
Patrick Bligh Cheesman
Patrick had a career spanning 32 years in Local Government with the last 10 years as Head of Trading Standards for one of the larger authorities. A strong believer in customer focussed services, he has helped a number of services achieve the Government's Charter Mark for excellence in customer service.
After retiring from local government in 2006 Patrick set up a regional 'Scambusting' team to tackle rogue traders on behalf of 61 local authorities across London, the East and South-East of England.
A graduate of Leicester University, Patrick is a member of the Trading Standards Institute and has contributed a number of legal articles to their professional journal over his career.
Christopher is a Chartered Surveyor with many years experience in project co-ordination. Christopher was Vice-Chairman of the RICS Professional Conduct Panel (2005-March 2007), has acted as an Arbitrator (he was appointed by the President of the RICS and as an expert witness in the High Court) and is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Jane has over 30 years experience in the estate agency, banking and financial services industries. From Jan 2005 to July 2007 she held the role of Chairman of Halifax Estate Agencies, a subsidiary of HBOS plc. From 2000 to 2004 she held the role of Managing Director of Halifax Estate Agencies. From June 2003 to May 2007 Jane held the role of non-executive Director of Rightmove plc. Jane is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents. From 2000 to 2007, Jane served as a Board member of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents company. Jane was appointed in May 2007 and is currently a member of the Surveyors Ombudsman Scheme Board. Jane farms a family farm of 900 acres at Louth in Lincolnshire
Chris Kenny ( Independent Council member )
 Chris Kenny is an independent director and consultant, specialising in public policy, particularly consumer and competition and regulation issues. His early career was in the Department of Health, where he held a variety of policy and management posts including Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State. As Oftel's Director of Regulatory Policy and then Director of Compliance between 2000 and 2003, he worked with industry and consumer bodies to establish Otelo. Most recently, as Director of Life and Pensions for the Association of British Insurers until December 2006, he led the industry's input into the work of the Pensions Commission and the Government's response to it.
James Scott-Lee
James is Chairman of the RICS Residential Lettings Management Group, Chairman of the RICS Sales Group, a member of the RICS Residential Faculty Board and a member of the Asset Skills Residential Services Board. On behalf of the RICS he chairs the Private Rented Sector Forum that meets regularly with representatives of the ODPM. As an industry expert he was a founding Director of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents formed to raise standards and accountability in the property industry
Steven Gould
Steven is Director of Professional Regulation and Consumer Protection for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
|
