Sir Michael Edward Pitt DL is chair of the Legal Services Board which is the oversight regulator for the legal sector in England and Wales. He was previously chair of the

Infrastructure Planning Commission The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) was a non-departmental public body responsible for the examining and in certain circumstances the decision making body for proposed nationally significant infrastructure projects in England and Wales. Cre ...

, which has the role of considering

planning application Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

s for national infrastructure projects under the Planning Act 2008, and was appointed Chief Executive of the

Planning Inspectorate The Planning Inspectorate for England (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an executive agency of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of the United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing reco ...

on 1 April 2011. Pitt graduated from University College London in 1970 with a first class honours degree in Civil Engineering. He has worked for the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, private sector and local government, with the majority of his career in County Council Technical Departments. During 1990 he was appointed as Chief Executive of Cheshire County Council, and was Chief Executive of

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

from 1997 to 2005. He was formerly the national President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives. In April 2006, Sir Michael was appointed as Chair of the South West

Strategic Health Authority Strategic health authorities (SHA) were part of the structure of the National Health Service in England between 2002 and 2013. Each SHA was responsible for managing performance, enacting directives and implementing health policy as required by the ...

(known as NHS South West), which oversees the operation of the National Health Service in the South West of England. He held the post until mid-2009. On 8 August 2007 Sir Michael was appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to chair an independent review into the

floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

which affected parts of the United Kingdom in the summer of 2007. His final report was published in June 2008, and the government has since begun to implement his recommendations. He has held a range of other appointments including the chairmanship of the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

’s National Revalidation Programme Board, and chairing two companies (Solace Enterprises Ltd and Swindon Commercial Services) and providing consultancy advice to a variety of public sector organisations. He is also a trustee of a

family mediation Family mediation is a member of the ADR or alternative dispute resolution family. It forms one of the core pillars of mediation services provided globally. Historically, it remains unclear where family mediation first evolved geographically. Howe ...

charity in Wiltshire, Mediation Plus. Pitt received a knighthood in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

List in June 2005 for services to local government. In February 2009, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Wiltshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, Michael Alumni of University College London Living people Local government officers in England Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Knights Bachelor Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire British civil servants