The council of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) has elected Bill Toner as its new chair while David Williams will succeed Andrew Guy as chair of the association’s national executive and Graham Grose will become vice chair.

Toner, the chief executive of Aramark, will succeed the previous chair, Whitbread chief executive Alan Parker.

The BHA council comprises 14 members drawn from the upper echelons of the UK’s hospitality and catering companies and was established to articulate the hospitality industry’s opinions and concerns to the government while taking a lead role in key initiatives.

Toner believes the council has a positive role to play in the hospitality industry’s relations with the government. He said: “We continue to have concerns about the skills agenda, in particular the qualifications framework, because a trained workforce for the industry is vital.

“In addition, there have been major developments in tourism promotion which need greater investment on the part of the government if we are to maximise Britain’s overseas earnings.” Details: www.bha.org.uk