News Item • 3 mins read
It is with profound sadness that UKAS announced the passing last week of its recently retired Chair, Lord Linsday, Jamie as he was known to the UKAS team.
Lord Lindsay tirelessly dedicated himself to accreditation, quality and safety for over 30 years. Prior to being appointed UKAS Chair in 2002, he held a number of senior positions in the public, private and NGO sectors. This included serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland (1995-1997) and specialising in issues around the environment, food safety and consumer protection.
As UKAS Chair, Lord Lindsay was instrumental in highlighting the valuable contribution that accreditation makes to business, government and the protection of society. His time in government reinforced his belief that while legislation has the primary role in protecting consumers from harm, it is accredited conformity assessment that underpins confidence and delivers assurance of safety and quality. His wealth of experience across a broad range of industries in both the public and private sectors was pivotal in establishing UKAS as a world-leading accreditation body.
Lord Lindsay provided exceptional leadership through a period of significant growth for UKAS. This enabled UKAS to expand its influence from its more traditional industries into new sectors, such as health and social care, sustainability, forensic science and emerging technologies, including most recently artificial intelligence. He also oversaw considerable change within UKAS itself, being particularly proud of its transition from a more isolated organisation to one that fully engages with its customers and wider stakeholders, better anticipating the needs of the market. During his time as Chair, Lord Lindsay celebrated several important milestones with UKAS, including last year’s 30th anniversary of UKAS’s establishment as the UK’s National Accreditation Body.
In addition to his role at UKAS, Lord Lindsay made further invaluable contributions to the wider quality community. These included terms as President of the Chartered Quality Institute, President of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, Chair of the Risk & Regulation Advisory Council, Deputy Chair of the Better Regulation Committee and as a key member of the Better Regulation Strategy Group. His unwavering commitment to environmental and agricultural issues was underlined by his tenures as President of the National Trust Scotland, the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland and the International Tree Foundation.
The whole UKAS team is extremely grateful to Jamie for his considerable insight, expertise, guidance, advocacy and dedication over the past decades. He will be greatly missed as both a respected colleague and dear friend. At this very sad time, our deepest condolences and thoughts are with his family, friends and all who knew him.
