Appointment of 4 Non-Executive Members to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

The Department of Health has announced the appointment of Mr Jim Quinn, Cllr William Webb, Mr Ken Millar and Ms Alana Jones as non-executive members of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS). Mr Quinn is appointed as the Trade Union Representative, Cllr Webb as District Councillor Representative and Ms Jones and Mr Millar are appointed as Lay Members. The appointments will cover a maximum period of four years beginning on 1 May 2018.

The appointments carry a time commitment of 3 days per month and attract an annual remuneration of £5,962.

The appointments were made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

Notes to editors: 

1. Mr Jim Quinn is employed by the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service as a Watch Commander based at its Headquarters in Lisburn. He is also the Northern Ireland Executive Council Member for the Fire Brigades Union which represents uniformed members of the Fire Service throughout the UK. Mr Quinn is an elected member of the Northern Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions which is the representative body for Northern Ireland. He was previously a non-executive Director of Lisburn Local Strategy Partnership. Mr Quinn brings over 32 years of Fire Service experience to the Board. 
2. Cllr William Webb has been a councillor since 1997 and serves on Antrim and Newtownabbey Council. Mr Webb sits on the Council Planning Committee and the Policy and Governance Committee. He is the former Chair and current vice-president of the NI Hospice, former Chair and current Vice-Chair of a neighbourhood renewal partnership and a board member of Ulster Garden Villages, a housing association and charity. He serves as a member of the NI Rent Assessment Panel, is a member of the Drainage Council and a Board Member of Libraries NI. He has been a Justice of the Peace since 2000 and was awarded an MBE for service to the community and local government in 2015. He was formerly employed by HMRC and took early retirement in 2008.
3. Ken Millar had a successful career in the Northern Ireland Civil Service as a Senior Civil Servant, with particular experience in personnel and financial management, project management and organisational design and development. He held the posts of Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of a DFP Agency, and Director of Personnel and Information Systems in DHSSPS. He ran his own consultancy company between 2002 and 2010, providing services chiefly to the public sector in organisational reviews and management structures. He has extensive experience in operating at NDPB Board level and in their sub committees in the Agri-Food and Bio Science Institute, and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. He acted as Interim Chief Executive of the NI Law Commission during 2014-2015. He is currently Chairman of the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust, and is a non-executive member of the Board of the NIHE.
4. Ms Alana Jones brings senior management level skills gained both as a senior leader in industry and as a senior partner of two legal practices.  In her current role as Director of Alana Jones Workplace Solutions she provides coaching, training, mediation and organisational development services. She has extensive experience in developing, implementing and monitoring business strategies, of corporate governance and change and of building stakeholder engagement. Alana holds a number of academic, coaching and leadership qualifications and she has served as a Regional Councillor of the CBI Northern Ireland and as a member of its Economic Affairs Committee.
5. NIFRS is divided into 4 operational Command Areas – Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western. Area Commanders, each responsible for one of the 4 Area Commands, manage operational activity on a day to day basis. The 4 Area Commands are supported by 14 Districts, strategically placed across Northern Ireland and which create a community focus for NIFRS activities. District Command are responsible for the Fire Stations in their District. There are 68 Fire Stations throughout Northern Ireland serving their local community. NIFRS Headquarters is situated in Lisburn, Co. Antrim and the Fire & Rescue Learning & Development Centre is currently situated at Boucher Crescent, Belfast.
6. The appointments were made with the approval of the Department of Health.  There are no specific qualifications for appointment. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. William Webb has been an Alliance Party councillor since 2008. Jim Quinn, Ken Millar and Alana Jones have not been involved in any political activity in the last five years.
7. Media enquiries to DoH Press Office on 028 9052 0575 or email pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk. For out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07623 974383 and your call will be returned. Follow us on Twitter @healthdpt

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