Corporate Governance

Role of the Board

The UK Municipal Bonds Agency plc is overseen by its Board of Directors comprising seven non-executive directors.  The Board has control of all facets of the UKMBA including strategy and credit policy.

The Board and its individual directors are accountable to the UKMBA’s shareholders, who are the Local Government Association (“LGA”) and 56 UK local authorities.  Ultimate control rests with these shareholders.

Classes of Share and Voting Structure

The UKMBA has two classes of shares in issue: “LGA Shares” and “B Shares”; the former are held by the LGA and the latter by the local authority shareholders.  Both classes of share have equal economic and voting rights, but the LGA shares confer on the Local Government Association the right of veto concerning the appointment of directors and changes to the UKMBA’s Articles of Association.  The rights of veto conferred on the LGA are to ensure that the ethos and operations of the company cannot be altered to the detriment of wider local government.  The voting rights of any shareholder is capped at 5 per cent of total shareholders’ voting rights.

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Sir Merrick Cockell , Chairman

Sir Merrick Cockell was appointed Chairman of the UKMBA in January 2015.  He was previously Chairman of the LGA  2011-2014, Chair of London Councils 2006-2010 and Chair of the London Pension Fund Authority 2010-19.  In addition, Sir Merrick is Chairman of Localis, an independent think-tank dedicated to localism and local government, and a Senior Advisor to PA Consulting.

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Adrian Bell , Vice Chairman

Adrian Bell was appointed Vice Chairman of the UKMBA in January 2015.  He is Director of Chatham Financial, which acquired JCRA in late 2019.  Adrian was at RBC for 20 years and was responsible for the bank becoming one of the largest firms in the sterling bond market, focused on raising funds for major SSA and municipal borrowers.  He retired as Chair of RBC Europe in 2009.

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Sir Stephen Houghton , Senior Independent Director

Sir Steve has been an elected member of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council for 25 years and Leader of the Council for 17 years.  Sir Steve holds a number of positions including Chair of the Barnsley Local Strategic Partnership; Chair of SIGOMA and Regional Peer of the LGA.

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Derrick Anderson , Non Executive Director

Derrick Anderson, CBE, has over 25 years’ senior management experience in local government and more than 30 years in the public sector.  Derrick was Chief Executive of Lambeth Council from 2006-2014 and was previously Chief Executive of the City of Wolverhampton Council for 10 years prior to that.  Derrick was voted Public Leader of the Year in the Guardian Public Services Awards 2012.

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Sarah Pickup , Non Executive Director

Sarah Pickup, OBE, is Deputy Chief Executive of the Local Government Association having previously worked for Hertfordshire County Council until 2015 as Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer, responsible for corporate services.  Sarah was Director of Health & Community Services at the County 2003-2013.  Sarah was president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) in 2012/13, and prior to this fulfilled a number of roles for the association.

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Andrew Proctor , Non Executive Director

Andrew Proctor was elected leader of Norfolk County Council in June 2018 having previously been leader of Broadland District Council 2011-18 and deputy leader for 8 years prior to that.  He is a member of the LGA’s Commercial Advisory Board and a Member Peer of the LGA.  Andrew is Practice Manager of  two Norfolk law firms and spent the first twenty years of his professional life in the City at a number of banks including ANZ, HSBC and Deutsche Bank.

 

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Brian Roberts , Non Executive Director

Brian Roberts is Associate Director of Local Government at CIPFA and Finance Commissioner at Northamptonshire County Council.  He was previously Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Resources at Leicestershire County Council.  Brian has also been President of CIPFA, President of the Society of County Treasurers, President of the Association of the Local Government Treasurers and the LGA’s Core Finance Advisor.

UKMBA Governance Structure

You can view the structure here

Our Shareholders

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The UK Municipal Bonds Agency Plc shareholders reflect a diverse and representative range of regions, political parties and Type.

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Articles of Association

UKMBA Articles of Association

Policies

Role and duties of the Board
UKMBA Anti Bribery and Corruption Policy
Anti Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Policy
UKMBA Freedom of Information Statement
UKMBA Policy Statement on Data Protection
UKMBA Compliance Statement
UKMBA Equality and Diversity Statement
UKMBA Expenses policy
UKMBA Expense claim form