On 17 May 2024 the Secretary of State appointed five new non-executive directors to the Board of Homes England, the Government's housing and regeneration agency.
The new members are:
- Abi Brown OBE, a Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association and former Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- David Cutter, former Group Chief Executive of Skipton Building Society
- Ros Kerslake CBE, former Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Peter Vernon, Senior Advisor at Places for London and Chair of Grosvenor Hart Homes.
- Sir Oliver Letwin, former Government minister and former Member of Parliament for West Dorset
Biographical information about the new Homes England Board members
Abi Brown OBE
Abi Brown is a deputy chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA), sitting on the LGA Board and also chairing the LGA Improvement and Innovation Policy Board, and Improvement and Development Agency Board (IDeA).
She was leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council between 2019 and 2023, deputy leader between 2015 and 2019, and remains a councillor for the city's Meir Park ward, which she has represented since 2010.
Abi has held a number of other senior posts including Chair and Non-Executive Director of Fortior Homes, the private housing company owned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Vice Chair of the LGA City Regions Policy Board, Non-Executive Director of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and a member of the Midlands Engine Executive Board.
She was awarded an OBE in 2024 for services to local government.
David Cutter
David Cutter has extensive senior level experience in financial services and real estate. He was previously Group Chief Executive at Skipton Building Society for 12 years, overseeing governance, performance and a balance sheet of more than £30bn, after holding several senior positions within the organisation over a 30-year period. He has chaired bodies including the Building Societies Association, Callcredit plc, Home Loan Management Ltd and Skipton Guernsey Ltd, and was a Non-Executive Director at Connells Ltd, the UK's largest estate agency with 1,250 branches and a turnover of £1bn.
A chartered accountant and former chief internal auditor, David is also a Non-Executive Director at Moorlands Learning Trust. He played international hockey for Wales between 1983 and 1991.
Ros Kerslake CBE
Ros Kerslake CBE has more than 20 years' board level experience in the property and regeneration sectors, serving as chief executive, non-executive director and chair for a number of public and private sector organisations.
Previously she was Chief Executive Officer of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, overseeing circa £400m per annum of project investment, alongside a major organisation transformation programme of the UK-wide body. Her earlier roles include Chief Executive of The Prince's Regeneration Trust, leading urban regeneration across the UK, Chief Executive for Regen Co, Sandwell, and Director of Property at Network Rail.
Ros is a trustee for the regeneration charity Reform and the University College of Estate Management. She chairs two charities, the Leeds Castle Foundation and the Architectural Heritage Fund. She is also on the board of Sanctuary Group. She was awarded a CBE in 2020 for services to British heritage and an OBE in 2016 for services to heritage. She is a qualified solicitor.
Sir Oliver Letwin
Sir Oliver Letwin has held multiple senior advisory and academic roles during an extensive career in Parliament, banking and academia. He is currently Vice President of the Great Britain China Centre, a Fellow of the Legatum Institute and Senior Adviser to the Faraday Institution, Teneo and Marsh McLennan.
Sir Oliver was Managing Director of NM Rothschild until 2003, having previously served as a director, and a Member of Parliament for West Dorset between 1997 and 2019, serving in senior ministerial posts in the UK Government cabinet and shadow cabinet.
He was Minister for Government Policy and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 2010 and 2016 and between 2000 and 2010 held roles including; Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Shadow Home Secretary, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Shadow Environment Secretary and Chairman of the Conservative Policy Review.
Oliver is a visiting professor at the KCL Policy Institute and an Advisory Council Member to the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge University. Previously he taught Philosophy at Cambridge University.
Peter Vernon
Peter Vernon has an extensive senior career in property, regeneration and management consultancy. He is a Senior Advisor at Places for London and Chair of Grosvenor Hart Homes.
Peter was Group Executive Director of Grosvenor until 2021, having previously served as Chief Executive of Grosvenor Property UK between 2008 to 2017. Prior to Grosvenor he was a Partner with PwC Consulting. He has held Non-Executive Director roles for organisations including The Berkeley Group plc, BusinessLDN, and the West End Partnership. He also served as a Trustee of Peabody.
Peter was a member of the Policy Committee of the British Property Federation, the Government's Montague Review of the Private Rented Sector, a commissioner of the independent City Growth Commission and a member of the Government Estates Regeneration Panel.
