Lieutenancy Structure

The organisation of Deputy Lieutenants into sub-groups and committees and the structure of these is entirely at the discretion of each Lord-Lieutenant.  Such groups and committees are likely to evolve as circumstances and needs change.  The current structure within Oxfordshire is as follows:

Honours Groups

a)     The Honours Committee acts as the Lord-Lieutenant’s principle advisory group when it comes to nominations for Royal Garden Party invitations, reviewing Honours nominations initiated by the Lieutenancy and undertaking the sleuthing requested by the Cabinet Office for nominations of certain individuals within the county.  This committee has a Chairman and a range of representatives from across the DL group.

b)     The Queens Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) scheme is led by an appointed DL.  This person’s role is to coordinate the promotion of the QAVS across the DL group and wider county and to encourage nominations.  He/she is also be responsible for leading the assessment of the nominations received and for co-opting other DL’s to participate in the assessment and nomination process.

c)     The Queen’s Award for Enterprise.  This scheme does not require Lieutenancy involvement in the assessment process.  Instead, our role is to help publicise the scheme, encourage organisations to consider applying and sharing best practice on successful applications.  A DL is appointed to co-ordinate this effort.

Geographic Groups

a)     Subgroups of DL’s have been formed to help the Lieutenancy penetrate into each District within the county, ensuring that they build relationships with civic, voluntary, business, military and church colleagues.  The current groups are for Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and East Oxford

b)     Primarily within their geographic area they:

i)       Recommend candidates for invitation to a Royal Garden Party to be reviewed by the Honours Committee.

ii)      Suggest suitable enterprises, both voluntary and professional which might be the subject of a Royal visit, always remembering that arrangements for such visits can take up to twelve months to complete.  Quick feedback of ad hoc suggestions is also required on occasion when requested from the LL.

iii)    Stimulate, and where applicable carry out, appraisals of nominations for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service at the request of the QAVS leader.  The groups should remain alert to individuals who may be worthy of receipt of some level of Honour. 

iv)    Working with the QA4E leader, promote the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and encourage applications from potentially qualifying organisations in their area.

v)     Identify candidates who may be suitable for consideration as a future DL.

c)     For all these categories, the District Group should pay particular attention to ensuring diversity and that recommendations cover groups and individuals from across the full spectrum of our society.

d)     For events in their area not involving the LL or VLL, a member of the group would normally represent the Lieutenancy at civic, religious, military, charitable and business functions.

e)     They are responsible for building awareness of the Lieutenancy and the various Honour schemes within their District.  This awareness should extend to all sections of our society - both rural and urban - encompassing people of all cultures, religions, ages, abilities, genders and employment (business, education, third sector, etc.)

f)       A convenor for each District group is appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant, but operation of the District Group is to be decided within the team.

Town DL’s

a)     Each District Group has embedded within it, DL’s who are specifically allocated to the major towns in the county and who normally acts as the primary lead contact for organisations within these towns.

b)     Towns currently covered are Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Carterton, Chipping Norton and Charlbury, Didcot, Faringdon, Henley-on-Thames, Kidlington, Thame, Wantage, Wallingford, Woodstock and Witney. You can find a list of DLs linked to towns here

Military Liaison

a)     Oxfordshire has a significant number of army and RAF bases as well as reservists and cadets for all our Armed Forces.  While regular contact with these groups will usually be maintained by the Lord-Lieutenant or the town DL, it is helpful to coordinate our support for these organisations and to encourage civilian organisations in the County to support the Armed Forces Covenant.  One DL is appointed in this coordination role.

Issue-based Convening Groups

a)     Many of our DL’s share similar interests in addressing some of the societal issues present in the County.  After some experimentation we have found it effective to form convening groups for specific issues.  These groups seek to explore an aspect of the County in depth and report their learning on the topic to the wider DL community.  They look to support the organisations in the county working in these areas by recognition, establishing connections, encouraging cooperation and where appropriate convening meetings.

b)     Groups current operating are focused on the following themes:

i)       Young Families and Children

ii)      Rehabilitation of ex-Offenders

iii)    Community Integration and Diversity

iv)    Arts and Community Integration

An invitation to join one (or more) of these groups is at the sole discretion of the Lord-Lieutenant and depends on the time an individual has to commit to Lieutenancy matters.  If there are ideas for new convening groups, please get in touch with the Lieutenancy Office.