Joanne Shaw has been appointed by the Secretary of State as a Non-Executive Director, who will also chair the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, at NHS England for four years from 1 October 2016.

She is a non executive director and Chair of Audit at the National Audit Office, a position which she will hold until 30 September 2016. Joanne’s previous roles include: Chair of NHS Direct, NED and Audit Chair at the Money Advice Service, Trustee of the Long Term Conditions Alliance, NED at Kensington and Chelsea PCT, Director of Performance at the Audit Commission, Management Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and Management Consultant at Coopers and Lybrand.

Commenting on the appointment the Chairman, Professor Sir Malcolm Grant, said: “Joanne brings a wealth of relevant experience to the Board, including her former chairmanship of NHS Direct and membership of the Board of the National Audit Office. NHS England’s responsibility for over £105bn of public funds imposes a heavy responsibility for audit and risk, and I am grateful to David Roberts for having chaired the committee on an interim basis since Ed Smith stepped down last year to become chairman of NHS Improvement.”

Joanne Shaw said “The challenges currently facing the health service make it more important than ever that the money allocated to the NHS is well spent. I am delighted to be able to contribute to this important task, and to the longer term future of our health system.”