Environment Secretary Michael Gove, with the approval of the devolved administrations, has reappointed George Lyon and Paul Temple to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) for second terms.
The reappointments have been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments issued by the Cabinet Office. Both reappointments will run until March 31, 2021.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity to be made public.
AHDB is an independent non-departmental public body created under the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Order, 2008. The board for AHDB comprises a chairman and nine members.
The two reappointed are:
George Lyon
George Lyon has already served a term of three years on the AHDB.
He is currently chairman of the AHDB Remuneration and Nominations Committee; chairman of Meat & Livestock Commercial Services Limited (MLCSL) and has been a senior consultant for the agri-food practice of Hume Brophy since 2015.
Lyon was a member of the European Parliament in 2009 till 2014, serving on the Agricultural and Rural Affairs committee.
He is also a former farmer from the Isle of Bute, and previous National Farmers Union of Scotland president.
He played a central role in negotiating key aspects of agreements on both CAP reform and the EU budget and also worked on issues related to trade policy, with a particular focus on EU relations with the US and the emerging negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
George Lyon will receive £11,100 a year based on his commitment of 36 days.
Paul Temple
Paul Temple has already served one three-year term on the AHDB Board and chairs the Cereals & Oilseeds sector board.
He is a past vice president for the NFU, chairman of the COPA and COGECA Cereals, Oilseeds & Protein Group and founder of the European Biotech Forum and previously sat on the National Non-Food Crops Centre Board.
Image source: NFU
He also serves as Voluntary Initiative chairman (VI chairman). Paul farms 312ha in a partnership on the East Yorkshire Wolds, producing cereals for seed, oilseed rape, vegetables and beef.
Temple has not declared any political activity in the past five years.
He will receive £32,000 a year based on a time commitment of 104 days.
