Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

The Ombudsman is assisted by an Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in respect of the Accounting Officer aspects of the role. The committee is made up of 4 non-executive members and meets quarterly.

The committee members advise the Ombudsman on all activities, policies and procedures concerning governance, risk management and internal control.

Tim was previously a Board Member of The Community Housing Group, a provider of social housing to the local communities around Kidderminster in the West Midlands, and was also a member of its Audit and Assurance Committee. He was also a Trustee of the Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, a multi-academy trust of primary schools.

Tim is a retired senior civil servant having held several positions at Ofqual, the exams regulator including its Director of Risk and Markets, Director of Strategic Reform during the reform of GCSEs and A levels, and Director of the National Reference Test. He has a broad background in regulation and risk management. Prior to joining Ofqual, he was Chief Executive and Director of Regulation at Standards for England, and also worked at the Financial Services Authority, supervising major banks.

Tim’s earlier career was in the private sector including Risk Director at Xansa plc, a business process and IT outsourcing company, and at NatWest in roles including Director of International Businesses and Head of the Group’s Business Consultancy unit.

Tim is the Executive Director of Licensing and Standards at the Security Industry Authority and brings over 13 years of dispute resolution experience together with operational leadership from a parallel ombudsman service. Tim previously held the role of Ombudsman Director at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Prior to joining the Financial Ombudsman Service, he held a variety of senior management roles at Barclays, where he worked for 13 years.

Tim has also previously been a member of the Finance and Development Committee of Tower Hamlets Community Housing, where he gained valuable insight into the running of a registered housing provider. He served as a local councillor on Tower Hamlets council for eight years, leading on a number of housing issues and was lead member for overview and scrutiny. Tim was most recently a councillor on Reigate and Banstead Borough Council where he held the Executive Portfolio of Investments and Companies.

An accomplished Chair and Non-Executive Director with over 20 years’ experience operating at board and committee level across complex organisations, including statutory and Secretary of State–approved appointments. These include regulated public, not-for-profit and third sector organisations. Hiten brings a strong governance, audit, risk and regulatory lens, with extensive experience of chairing and serving on Audit & Risk, Finance, Governance, Remuneration, Global and Investment Committees.

David has extensive executive and governance experience ranging from roles in urban regeneration, social housing, engineering, medical charities and pensions. From September 2012 until September 2023, David was a Board Member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee of Estuary Housing Association.

Working in the further and higher education sectors from 2002 until 2024, David held Chief Financial Officer roles with a broad portfolio of leadership responsibilities including audit and risk management, business continuity planning, student admissions and record systems, estate management, strategic campus master planning and development and IT.

David’s other governance roles include social housing (Board member Coin Street Housing Co-Operative and independent member of the Stonewater Housing Risk and Assurance Committee) and Chelmsford College (Chair of Audit and Risk Committee).