Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Following the resignation of Natural Resources Wales’ Board member Kathleen Palmer, I am pleased to announce that I have directly appointed Karen Balmer as a temporary Board member for the interim period 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026, ahead of undertaking a full Public Appointment’s exercise.
Paragraph 3.3 of the Public Appointment’s Governance Code allows, in exceptional circumstances, for Ministers to appoint a candidate without competition, provided the Commissioner for Public Appointments is consulted. I can confirm the Commissioner has agreed the temporary appointment of Karen.
The role will be remunerated at £350 per day for a maximum of 48 days per year (pro rata for the term of appointment).
Karen served as a previous Natural Resources Wales’ Board member between November 2015 and March 2023. Karen is a CIPFA qualified accountant with over 35 years’ financial experience, along with extensive human resources and governance experience.
Natural Resources Wales’ Board has accountability for ensuring Natural Resources Wales exercises its legislative functions appropriately and effectively. The Board is also responsible to Welsh Ministers for the ways in which it delivers against the Ministerial remit letter.
I thank Kathleen for delivering significant contributions during her time as a Board member and for her commitment to Natural Resources Wales’ work particularly in her role as Chair of the Board’s Audit, Risk and Assurance sub-committee.