The Nomination Committee comprises the Chairman, the Group Chief Executive and Steve Hannam, the Senior Independent Non-executive Director.

The constitution of the Nomination Committee does not comply with the revised Combined Code as it does not comprise a majority of independent non-executive directors. Whilst the Nomination Committee leads the process of Board appointments, the Chairman will consult with all of the directors on a regular basis throughout the process. All appointments are also subject to the review and approval of the full Board and all directors will be invited to meet with a candidate before their appointment is recommended to the Board. In the opinion of the Board, the constitution of the Committee is therefore appropriate given the size of the Board and the process undertaken for Board appointments.

The Committee, which is established with formal written terms of reference, is responsible for recommending to the Board candidates for appointment as both executive and non-executive directors and for recommending to the Board all aspects of remuneration for non-executive directors. Appointments are fully discussed before a proposal is made to the Board. The selection criteria are agreed by the Committee Chairman in conjunction with his colleagues. Use is made of independent recruitment consultants and the final appointment rests with the full Board.

During the year 2006 the Nomination Committee identified and recommended to the Board the appointment of Kevin Higginson as Group Finance Director and identified Folkert Blaisse and Martin Flower as candidates for appointment as non-executive Directors with the relevant skills and experience which would strengthen the Board further. All of these appointments involved the use of external recruitment consultants. This involved a process of identifying the skills and experience that the ideal candidates for the position required.  Following formal Board approval, Kevin Higginson was appointed as Group Finance Director on 5 September 2006 and Folkert Blaisse and Martin Flower were appointed as non-executive Directors on 1 January 2007.