Appointment of Chief Commissioner to the Board of the Commission

The Department for Communities has appointed Mrs Nicole Lappin as the Chief Commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2024.

Mrs Lappin is a qualified barrister and Chair of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Social Care Trust, for which she receives £22,997 per annum. In this role she has experience of engaging and consulting with stakeholders to take forward service delivery changes.

She has served on a number of other boards, including the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunal Services, increasing her governance and budget management skills. This enables her to address challenges facing diverse organisations. In the last five years she has undertaken political activity for the Democratic Unionist Party.

Notes to editors 

1. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland was established as the regulator of charities operating in Northern Ireland following the enactment of the Charities (Northern Ireland) Act 2008. The main functions of Commission are to keep a public register of charities; encourage, facilitate and monitor compliance with charity law; determine charity status; identify and investigate misconduct in charity administration and take remedial or protective action as necessary.  

2. The Board of the  Commission  comprises a Chief Commissioner, a Deputy Chief Commissioner and five Commissioners. The Chief Commissioner receives remuneration of £5,750 per annum. 

3. The appointment has been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s (CPA NI) Code of Practice.   

4. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published.

6. For media enquiries please contact the Department for Communities Press Office on 028 90823516 or email press.office@communities-ni.gov.uk. For out of hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 90378110.