Defra’s food boss Emily Miles is leaving to take on a new role as chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Miles, who has also previously served as chief executive of the FSA, will take up the role in the autumn from interim CQC chief executive Dr Arun Chopra.
Miles, who announced her departure from Defra on LinkedIn, has been a been a key figure in negotiations on the EU realignment process in her second stint at the department, having previously headed up its EU exit process.
Her departure is the latest in a series of leadership shake-ups at the department, and comes amid huge uncertainty in the industry over the impact of the ongoing SPS re-alignment shake-up.
Miles will also step down as a member of the Food Strategy Advisory Board.
In 2024, she became Defra’s director general of food, biosecurity and trade, taking over from David Kennedy.
Miles told The Grocer when she rejoined Defra she was determined to build a “partnership approach” with the food industry, but Defra has been embroiled in controversy over cuts to the department, the government’s treatment of farmers and the introduction of regulation including the EPR packaging tax.
Miles left Defra for the first time to take on the FSA top job in 2019 and led the organisation through a string of global crises, including the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the fallout from Brexit.
“I’m delighted to have been appointed chief executive of the Care Quality Commission and look forward to starting the role later this year,” said Miles.
“My career has been built on public service and rooted in a deep commitment to putting people’s needs first. I’m immensely proud that I will have such a crucial role in delivering CQC’s vision that everyone gets safe, effective, compassionate care.
“I will do all I can to make sure that the independent regulator of health and social care protects people and supports services to improve – as well as encouraging services to work better together so people stay well and get high-quality care when they need it.”
CQC interim chair Kay Boycott said: “I am pleased that Emily will be bringing her leadership and regulatory insight at such an important time for CQC. Her experience leading organisations through challenging times, driving a high-performance culture, delivering large-scale change programmes, and rebuilding stakeholder trust will be invaluable as we continue to turnaround CQC to do better for people who use, lead and work in health and care services.
“Emily’s experience of regulatory innovation will also be helpful as CQC adapts to the significant changes in the health and social care sector and uses our unique position in the regulatory landscape to help support improvement.”
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