 On 8 August 2007 Sir Michael was appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to chair an independent review into the floods which affected parts of the United Kingdom in the summer of 2007.His final report was published in June 2008, and the government has since begun to implement his recommendations.He has held a range of other appointments including the chairmanship of the General Medical Council’s National Revalidation Programme Board, and chairing two companies (Solace Enterprises Ltd and Swindon Commercial Services) and providing consultancy advice to a variety of public sector organisations.