Peter Houten took up his current post as Director of Academies Policy and School Organisation. His responsibilities include the policy framework for the academies programme as well as fair access and school organisation. Prior to October Peter had been Director of School Formation and Investment from November 2006, a post which encompassed his current role plus responsibility for opening new academies.

Peter originally joined the Department of Employment in 1978 and spent the early part of his career in the Manpower Services Commission and its successor organisations. In the mid 1990s Peter became Director for Skills in the newly created Government Office for Merseyside with responsibility for contracts with the Region’s Training and Enterprise Councils. In 1996 he returned to the Department’s Head Office in Sheffield to take responsibility for national policy on TECs. In 2001 he became Head of Finance Strategy within the Department and during that period he was the Department’s Acting Finance Director for 6 months.