Successor to Michael Barber will start his role in April
Conservative peer James Wharton has officially been appointed chair of the Office for Students.
Wharton, who worked as prime minster Boris Johnson’s campaign manager during the 2017 Conservative party leadership contest, will take over from the current chair, Michael Barber, in April.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson said he was “delighted to announce Lord Wharton as the new chair of the Office for Students, who I am confident has the skills and experience to guide our students and the sector through these difficult times”.
Barber congratulated Wharton on his appointment and said he was looking forward to working with him “to help him prepare to take on the role, building on the achievements that we have made in the first three years of the Office for Students”.
The official appointment comes after Wharton denied that his work in the House of Lords would represent a conflict of interest in a pre-appointment hearing of the House of Commons education committee on 2 February.
Wharton told the committee that as chair he would uphold the independence of the Office for Students. He said whips in the Lords had agreed to “give me more latitude and understand that I may need to vote against or speak against some of the things the party in government could bring forward” in his role as chair of the OfS.
Kate Green, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said the appointment of Wharton “adds to the Conservative government’s growing catalogue of cronyism”.
“Students have been forgotten by this government which is more concerned about securing jobs for their friends,” she said “It’s ridiculous to think James Wharton could make independent decisions while continuing to sit as a Conservative peer. He must resign the whip without delay.”
Remuneration for the role of OfS chair is £59,000 per annum for a time commitment of approximately two days per week.