Appointments to the Board of Ulster Supported Employment Ltd (USEL)

The Department for Communities has announced the re-appointment of Mr William Leathem as Chair and Mr Raymond Havlin as a Member to the Board of Ulster Supported Employment Ltd (USEL), for a second term, from 1 August 2023 until 31 July 2027. Both have served on the Board since 1 August 2019.

USEL was established to provide supported paid employment for disabled people. Approximately 70% of employees at its manufacturing and recycling facility in Belfast have a disability or heath related condition. Today USEL is the largest supporter of people with disabilities within Northern Ireland with offices in Belfast, Londonderry and Portadown. Each year the company supports over 1,200 people with disabilities in more than 750 companies to enter and sustain economic employment through its various employment programmes

Notes to editors: 

1. USEL Board - USEL is an Arm’s-Length Body of the Department for Communities. The Board normally comprises a Chair and six Members. 
2. Details of Appointments - The current remuneration for the position of Chair is £270 for each board meeting attended and attendance is approximately 11 meetings per year. The current remuneration for the position of a Board Member is £140 for each board meeting attended and attendance is approximately 11 meetings per year.
3. CPANI Code of Practice & Political Activity - These re-appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s (CPA NI) Code of Practice. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, CPA NI requires the political activity of appointees to be published.
4. Mr William Leathem - Mr Leathem has varied audit and governance experience, project management experience and financial management skills, which he brings to this role. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Arts Council NI for which he receives remuneration of £3,535.00 per annum. He is also a Member of the Consumer Council NI with remuneration for under 4 hours £55.55, over 4 hours £111.09 per meeting attended. He is a former elected member of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, where he served as Chair of the Development Committee and Governance & Audit Committee. He was a former member of the District Policing Partnership and a former Board Member of the Ulster Scots Agency and Libraries NI. In the last 5 years he has undertaken political activity for the Democratic Unionist Party.
5. Mr Raymond Havlin - Mr Havlin runs a family owned business, successfully working with a wide range of suppliers, customers and strategic partner organisations, whilst overseeing the business’ activities. He is a Trustee and member of the Board of Governors of a local primary school. Mr Havlin has experience of strategy development, financial planning and risk management, skills which he brings to the USEL Board. He currently sits on the Finance, and Audit and Risk Sub-Committees of the Board. He has declared no political activity in the last five years and holds no other public appointments.
6. Department for Communities media enquiries should be directed to the Department for Communities Press Office via email
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8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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