SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
Report
of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Announcement:
01 February
2017
BT
Group plc
(Translation of
registrant's name into English)
BT
Group plc
81 Newgate Street
London
EC1A
7AJ
England
(Address of
principal executive offices)
Indicate by check
mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F..X...
Form 40-F.....
Indicate by check
mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained
in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.
Yes
.....
No ..X..
If "Yes" is
marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________
February
1st 2017
Openreach Appoints Independent Board Members
New members bring key expertise in employee relations and
regulatory compliance
Chairman sets out ambition to deliver improved service for
customers
Openreach has
appointed Sir Brendan Barber and Edward Astle as independent
members of a newly formed Board to oversee strategy, investment and
service delivery at the UK's leading digital infrastructure
company.
Sir
Brendan Barber, former General Secretary of the Trades Union
Congress and current chair of Acas, and Edward Astle, a former
Board member of National Grid, attended the inaugural meeting of
the Openreach Board on 31 January 2017. The Board was chaired by
Mike McTighe, who was appointed independent Chairman of Openreach
in December 2016. A fourth independent non-executive is due to be
announced imminently with a specific focus on customer
service.
Establishing the
new Board is central to governance reforms that Openreach has been
implementing to become a more transparent and autonomous business.
The reorganisation programme will create increased operational and
management independence for Openreach.
Mike
McTighe, Chairman of Openreach, said: "Openreach's network and
connectivity underpins Britain's digital economy and we know that
our customers have very high expectations of us.
"I
understand that customers sometimes feel let down by Openreach
because we haven't always delivered the service they expect or that
we hope to provide. We have made a lot of progress since Clive
Selley joined as CEO a year ago - for example on halving the number
of missed appointments, making our fibre network available to
millions more people and accelerating our plan to introduce a new
generation of ultrafast technology. But we need to do more to
re-build trust and credibility. This will be the Board's focus and
we are currently in consultation with BT Group about agreeing the
plan to deliver better service, broader coverage and faster speeds
for consumers and businesses across the country.
"We are
determined to meet our customers' expectations and to strengthen
the autonomy, governance and transparency of Openreach to
facilitate the delivery of better outcomes for everyone that has a
stake in our business."
The Board
will be responsible for setting Openreach's strategy and overseeing
its performance, making sure it treats all customers equally whilst
investing in better service, broader coverage and faster broadband
speeds for the entire UK. It will have an independent majority
whose appointments have been discussed with Ofcom.
Clive
Selley, Openreach Chief Executive; Clare Sadlier, Openreach Chief
Finance Officer; and Simon Lowth, BT Group Finance Director will
also join the Openreach Board. Clive will report to the Openreach
Chairman, with accountability to the BT Chief Executive on issues
relating to BT's responsibilities as a publicly listed
company.
To
further strengthen governance, Openreach will establish committees
needed to operate to the highest standards of corporate governance.
In particular, a new Openreach Board Audit, Risk and Compliance
Committee (OBARCC) will be established. The OBARCC will hold the
business to account and regularly hear representations from
customers, as well as conducting an annual review of Openreach
compliance and publish its findings.
1
Brendan
Barber has been Chair of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration
Service (Acas) since January 2014 and brings a wealth of experience
in employment relations, having also been General Secretary of the
TUC from 2003 to 2012. He also serves on the
Banking
Standards Board
(2015-).
Edward
Astle has a distinguished history in the telecoms and utilities
sector, having served on the Boards, and run substantial divisions,
of Cable and Wireless (1989 to 1997), BICC (1997 to 1999) and
National Grid (2001 to 2008). He was Pro Rector Enterprise at
Imperial College London from 2008 to 2013 and has been an
independent member of Equality of Access Board since 2013, so he
brings a detailed understanding of the industry, and particularly
the regulatory and compliance obligations being adopted by
Openreach.
ENDS
For further information:
Catherine Colloms, Director Corporate Affairs
Openreach |
catherine.colloms@openreach.co.uk
or
Richard Knowles, Head of Media & PR Openreach | 07918055770 |
richard.knowles@openreach.co.uk
1
OBARCC will operate
alongside the EAB
Notes to Editors:
About Openreach
Openreach
is the UK's leading digital infrastructure provider.
Its 32,000
employees are responsible for building and maintaining millions of
miles of fibre and copper cables that connect every home and
business in the UK to local telephone exchanges. Openreach operates
and maintains this network to deliver a range of wholesale services
for more than 560 retail providers, who in-turn provide telephony,
broadband, TV and data services to more than 30 million consumer
and business customers throughout the country.
Openreach
is a highly regulated business, with more than 90 per cent of its
revenues generated from services that are regulated by Ofcom. Any
company can access its products under exactly the same prices,
terms and conditions.
Over
the last decade, Openreach has invested more than £10bn into
its network and is currently building the UK's largest fibre
broadband footprint, which offers superfast speeds of more than
30Mbps. This technology is available to more than 26 million homes
and businesses, with tens of thousands more gaining access each
week.
Openreach
is a wholly owned and independently governed division of the BT
Group. For the year ended 31 March 2016, it reported revenues of
£5.1bn.
For more information, visit
openreach.co.uk
Signatures
Pursuant to the
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
BT Group plc
(Registrant)
By:
/s/ Dan Fitz, Company Secretary
--------------------
Dan
Fitz, Company Secretary.
Date
01 February
2017
BT (NYSE:BT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
BT (NYSE:BT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024
