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Former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield has joined the board of the UK Treasury as part of an effort by chancellor Rachel Reeves to beef up her department’s business expertise.
Mayfield will be joined on the board of directors by Edward Twiddy, a financial technology entrepreneur and chair of Northstar Ventures, a Newcastle-based venture capital firm.
Meanwhile Jenny Scott, a former BBC economics correspondent and ex-director of communications at the Bank of England, has been hired to advise the Treasury on how to better explain its policies.
Reeves said the new appointees, who will serve three-year terms from September 1, would bring “fresh thinking” to the Treasury at a time when it is facing serious fiscal challenges amid sluggish growth in the UK economy.
“I’m really pleased to welcome Sir Charlie Mayfield, Edward Twiddy and Jenny Scott to the board, as we build on our partnership working with business,” the chancellor said.
“Between them they bring a huge amount of experience and fresh thinking.” The roles, which require 24 days of work a year, are paid but the Treasury declined to say how much each new appointment would receive.
Reeves’ warm relationship with business following Labour’s election victory 13 months ago has chilled considerably, as measures such as a £25bn national insurance bill for employers in last October’s Budget have weighed on activity.
Mayfield, who has 20 years of private sector experience as well as chairing the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, will advise the Treasury on how to repair and improve relations.
Twiddy, who launched the fintech start-up Atom Bank in 2014 after spending 13 years as a Treasury civil servant, will bring a focus on “enterprise and innovation”, a government spokesman said.
Reeves has been pushing Britain’s regulators to move faster in promoting fintech and innovation in the City of London.
The appointment of Scott, who now runs strategic communications company Apella Advisors, comes after Reeves recently ordered a review of the Treasury’s communication operations.
Scott played a role in the BoE’s public relations efforts during the financial crisis and in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum.