Governance

Application of the UK Corporate Governance Code for the year ended 31 December 2010

The Board remains committed to high standards of corporate governance in directing the Group's affairs and in its accountability to shareholders. The Directors believe these are key to managing our business effectively and delivering shareholder value over the longer term.

The Board considers that, throughout 2010, Standard Life plc has complied with all relevant provisions of Section 1 of the UK Corporate Governance Code (formerly Combined Code (2008)) issued by the Financial Reporting Council in June 2008.

Response to the Davies Review

Standard Life plc's Board notes the recommendations made in the Davies Review, in particular the recommendation that the Chairman should make a statement by September on building a diverse Board.

The Board currently comprises eleven Directors. Three of them are women. The Board supports the principle that it benefits from a make-up which is diverse in its widest sense, including gender, and within the context of an overall balance of skills, independence, knowledge and experience. Earlier this year Standard Life Investments, Standard Life plc's wholly-owned subsidiary and a major institutional investor, published a position paper on board diversity. In the paper, Standard Life Investments:

supports the principle that due regard should be had for the benefits of diversity when undertaking a search for board candidates, both executive and non-executive;
recognises that diversity can bring insights and behaviours that may make a valuable contribution to an effective board:
believes that a board should have a blend of skills and attributes amongst its individual members that is appropriate to its needs and
proposes that a board should be able to demonstrate with conviction that any new appointee can make a meaningful contribution to its deliberations.

The Board of Standard Life plc agrees with these position statements and takes account of them in its own processes to identify and appoint suitable candidates to the Board. The Board is committed to the principle of maintaining its present diverse composition.

Click here to read the full SLI position paper