Citizens Advice chair to step down and new trustee appointed

Citizens Advice has today announced that Sir David Varney will be stepping down as chair of the national charity. It has also announced it has welcomed Ann-Marie Harkin to its trustee board.

Sir David Varney has confirmed that he will be stepping down from his role due to health reasons, but will remain in post until the end of his term this Autumn.

Ann-Marie Harkin joins the trustee board with immediate effect. She is currently Financial Audit Director and Engagement Lead with the Wales Audit Office, and previously worked for the National Audit Office, providing financial and performance audits for public and private sector organisations. In addition to serving on the trustee board, she will join the organisation's Cymru Committee.

This now brings the board to 12 members. Trustees can serve a maximum of two, three-year terms.

Citizens Advice will begin recruiting for a new chair shortly.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“I would like to thank Sir David Varney for his contribution to Citizens Advice. For decades we have been providing help to anyone who has a problem, while advocating for change to address the root causes of the problems we see. Sir David has helped us shape a service that is truly fit for the future.

“I’m ​also ​delighted to welcome Ann-Marie Harkin as the newest member of our trustee board. She brings an incredible wealth of public sector audit knowledge to our team, and I’m looking forward to working together to make sure Citizens Advice has the greatest possible impact.”

Sir David Varney, outgoing chair of Citizens Advice, said:

“I made my decision to step down from my role as Chair of national Citizens Advice with a heavy heart.

“Citizens Advice is a remarkable organisation, and I have immense pride in our achievements as a service over the past three years. This is also an exciting time for the future of the organisation , as the work to develop a new vision for the future of advice takes shape, and it prepares to celebrate its 80th birthday.

“I have no doubt that Citizens Advice will continue to help millions of people find a way forward in the decades to come.”

Ann-Marie Harkin, new trustee of Citizens Advice, said:

“I am proud to be joining the board of Citizens Advice. I have always had immense respect for the service Citizens Advice provides across England and Wales, so I’m excited to get started and help the organisation deliver advice and improve people’s lives.”

-ends-

Notes to editors

1. The Trustee Board members are: Sir David Varney - Chair, Warren Buckley and Lucy Inmonger - Deputy Chairs, John Woodman - Treasurer, Fran Keene, Barbara Shaw, Rolande Anderson, Ashok Vaswani, Andrew Stephenson, Mark Haysom, Will Cavendish, Ann-Marie Harkin. 

2. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local Citizens Advice, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
3. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
4. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk
5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers.
6. Local Citizens Advice in England and Wales advised 2.5 million clients on 6.2 million problems in 2014/15. For full service statistics see our publication Advice trends.
7. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 service outlets across England and Wales.