Melanie Dawes

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Dame Melanie Dawes

| honorific-suffix = DCB

| image = Melanie Dawes.jpg

| office = Chief Executive of the Office of Communications

| term_start = 12 February 2020

| primeminister = Boris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Keir Starmer

| predecessor = Sharon White

| birth_name = Melanie Henrietta Dawes

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1966|3|9}}

| alma_mater = New College, Oxford
Birkbeck, University of London

| spouse = {{marriage|Benedict Brogan|1992}}

| children = 1 daughter

| awards = Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (2020)

}}

Dame Melanie Henrietta Dawes {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DCB}} (born 9 March 1966) is a British economist and administrator. In February 2020 she was appointed Chief Executive of Ofcom. She was previously the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and before that worked at HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, and in the Cabinet Office. She is a Trustee of the Patchwork Foundation, founded by Harris Bokhari.

Early life and education

Dawes was born on 9 March 1966. She was educated at Malvern Girls' College, then an all-girls private school in Malvern, Worcestershire. She studied at New College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. She then undertook postgraduate studies in economics at Birkbeck College, London, graduating with a Master of Science (MSc) degree.'DAWES, Melanie Henrietta', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U10000089 accessed 20 Oct 2017]

Career

Dawes joined the Civil Service in 1989.{{cite news|last1=Atkinson|first1=Mark|last2=Elliott|first2=Larry|title=Brown's mechanics behind the machinations of government|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/1999/nov/09/7|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=The Guardian|date=9 November 1999}} After two years at the Department for Transport, she spent 15 years at HM Treasury, ending her time there in the role of Europe Director from 2002 to 2006. Then, from 2006 to 2011, she worked at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). She was Director General for Business Tax at HMRC from November 2007, replacing Dave Hartnett.{{cite web|title=Melanie Dawes CB|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/melanie-dawes|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|accessdate=4 November 2015}} From October 2011 to 2015, she was Director General of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat in the Cabinet Office.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-head-of-economic-and-domestic-affairs-secretariat-appointed|title=New Head of Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat appointed|publisher=Cabinet Office, UK Government|date=30 November 2011}}

On 1 March 2015 Dawes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Communities and Local Government, succeeding Sir Bob Kerslake.{{cite web|title=New Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities and Local Government|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-permanent-secretary-for-the-department-for-communities-and-local-government--2|website=Department for Communities and Local Government|accessdate=4 November 2015|date=8 January 2015}} She was the first permanent secretary to be appointed under a new scheme in which the Prime Minister has the final say in the recruitment process; the PM now chooses from a list created by the Civil Service Commissioners, rather than only having a veto over the Commissioners' preferred candidate.{{cite web|title=Lying in wait: who will be the permanent secretaries meeting the new ministers in 2015?|date=7 May 2015|first=Jill|last=Rutter|url=http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/11446/lying-in-wait-who-will-be-the-permanent-secretaries-meeting-the-new-ministers-in-2015/|website=Institute for Government}} In 2015 Dawes was paid a salary of between £160,000 and £164,999 pa by DCLG, making her one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector.{{Cite web|url = https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/492289/150K_senior_salaries.csv/preview|title = Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 – Government of the United Kingdom|date = 17 December 2015|publisher = Government of the United Kingdom|access-date = 9 March 2016}}

On 12 February 2020, Dawes was named as the new Chief Executive of broadcasting, telecoms and postal services regulator Ofcom.{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-minded-to-appoint-ofcom-as-online-harms-regulator | title=Government Minded To Appoint Ofcom As Online Harms Regulator | date=12 February 2020 | publisher = Government of the United Kingdom | access-date=12 February 2020}}

=Other work=

Dawes was Chair of the Alcohol Recovery Project from 2003 to 2005. She was a Member of the Council of Which? between 2011 and 2015. She was the Civil Service Gender Champion from 2015 to 2019, when she was appointed as the overall Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Champion. She was a judge for the 2015 Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Awards.{{cite web|title=Judges|url=http://www.diversityandinclusionawards.com/judges|website=Diversity and Inclusion Awards|accessdate=4 November 2015|year=2015}} Dawes is a trustee of the Patchwork Foundation.{{cite web |title=Trustees |url=https://patchworkfoundation.org.uk/about/our-people/trustees/ |website=Patchwork Foundation |accessdate=30 January 2019 |date=16 October 2018}}

Personal life

In 1992, Dawes married Benedict Brogan. Together they have a daughter.{{cite web|title=Women of the Year|url=http://www.womenoftheyear.co.uk/melanie-dawes/|accessdate=14 November 2015|date=30 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117063201/http://www.womenoftheyear.co.uk/melanie-dawes/|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Dawes|first1=Melanie|title=International Women's Day – guest blog from Melanie Dawes|url=https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2015/03/16/international-womens-day/|website=Civil Service Blog|accessdate=14 November 2015|date=16 March 2015}}{{cite news|title=At Home with Lord Rothermere: Our Top Tax Man and the Non-Dom Press Baron|work=Private Eye|issue=1231|date=6 March 2009|quote=Dawes, a career Treasury civil servant said by some to have been drafted into HMRC to keep an eye on the taxmen, just happens to be married to Benedict Brogan}}

Honours

Dawes was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for "services to the Civil Service in the field of Economic Policy"{{London Gazette |issue=60534 |date=15 June 2013 |page=2 |supp=y }} and promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB) in the 2020 New Year Honours for public service.{{London Gazette|issue=62866|supp=y|page=N3|date=28 December 2019}}