Dame Deirdre Mary Hutton (born 15 March 1949), is a British public servant, termed by the British media as "Queen of the

Quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where N ...

s" and "The great quango hopper". She was the chair of the UK's Civil Aviation Authority from 2009 to 2020.

Early career

A former anti-apartheid demonstrator who was once arrested in South Africa, after a short private sector career working for

Anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...

(1973–75), she then became a researcher for

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Chamber of Commerce (1975–80), before becoming its chair (1980–82).

Public appointments

Hutton has worked for over 10 major non-departmental public bodies in 30 years. Her first appointment was in 1980 to the Arts Council of Scotland. She developed her career in championing consumer issues within public sector bodies, particularly in health and food standards and regulation, including: Chair of the Foresight Panel on the Food Chain and Crops for Industry; Chair of the Food Chain Centre; member of the 2001–2 Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food (''Curry Commission''). She chaired the board of Rural Forum Scotland in 1999 when it collapsed due to insolvency. She was, until June 2008, the Vice-Chair of the

European Food Safety Authority The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...

Management Board. She is Honorary Vice-President of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. Hutton was a non-executive Director of the Scottish Borders Health Board and a member of The King's Fund Organizational Audit Council. She was a member of the Wilson Committee on Complaints in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, and of the

General Dental Council The General Dental Council (GDC) is an organisation which regulates dental professionals in the United Kingdom. It keeps an up-to-date register of all qualified dentists and other dental care professionals such as: dental hygienists, dental ther ...

. For five years until 2005, she was Chair of the

National Consumer Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, having formerly chaired the

Scottish Consumer Council The New National Consumer Council, operating as Consumer Futures, was a non-departmental public body and statutory consumer organisation in England, Wales, Scotland, and, for postal services, Northern Ireland. It was established by the Consumers ...

. She was Vice-Chair of the

Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; gd, Buidheann Dìon Àrainneachd na h-Alba) is Scotland's environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority.Sustainable Development Commission The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) was a non-departmental public body responsible for advising the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government, and Northern Ireland Executive on sustainable development. It was set u ...

and a member of the Energy Advisory Panel for the UK Department of Trade and Industry. She was a member of the Better Regulation Task Force. Chair of the Personal Investment Authority Ombudsman Council, Hutton was then Deputy Chair of the Financial Services Authority until December 2007. She was a member of the Secretary of State's Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament. During 2008, she was on the three-member panel that conducted an independent review of the postal services on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Hutton was (2011–16) a non-executive Director of Castle Trust, and non-executive member of the Treasury Board, and

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltsh ...

. Hutton is one of 32 Vice-Presidents of the

Chartered Trading Standards Institute The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is a professional association which represents and trains trading standards professionals working in local authorities, business and consumer sectors and in central government in the UK and overseas ...

. Appointed to the board of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as a non-executive director in April 2009, Hutton was appointed chair in 2009 by Transport Secretary

Geoff Hoon Geoffrey William Hoon (born 6 December 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire from 1992 to 2010. He is a former Defence Secretary, Transport Secretary, Leader of ...

, replacing Sir Roy McNulty; she was paid £130,000 for two days' work a week in 2010, which was still the case as of 2015, making her one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. She retired from the role in 2020.

Personal life

Deirdre Mary Cassells married Alasdair Henry Hutton in 1975 in Oxford. She was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the Queen's Birthday Honours for 1998, and advanced to DBE in the Birthday List of 2004. In April 2010 she was awarded a Fellowship of City and Guilds. Divorced from

Alasdair Hutton Alasdair Henry Hutton OBE TD OStJ (born 19 May 1940) is a British writer and narrator for public events and concerts, including the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Early life Born in London in 1940, Hutton's house was hit by a bomb three ...

, former MEP, Hutton has two sons, Thomas and Nicholas Hutton. Her hobbies include gardening and chamber music.

References

External links

Biodata
Debretts.com

lboro.ac.uk
Biodata
food.gov.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Deirdre 1949 births Living people Scottish civil servants Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Thames Water