Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Rejected
Paragraph: 40
Prioritising commercial experience for Non-Executive Director roles risks limiting applicant diversity.
Recommendation
The Corporate Governance Code for Central Government Departments states that non-executive board members will be primarily from the commercial private sector and the Committee recognises the value individuals with this experience can bring to departmental boards. However, written evidence from Government departments suggests that skills and experience across a range of sectors are deemed valuable, depending on the needs of the department. Therefore, we do not feel that commercial experience should take such priority, particularly if there is a risk this could limit the diversity of applicants.
Government Response Summary
The government rejected the recommendation to reduce the priority of commercial experience, arguing that while the current NEBM cadre includes diverse experience, the benefits of strong commercial representation on boards are very apparent.
Paragraph Reference:
40
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The current NEBM cadre contains experience from highly varied organisations, such as: Mastercard, Alzheimer Society, Deliveroo, British Heart Foundation, Burberry, Rolls-Royce, Mitie, Virgin Media and Centrica. A number of NEBMs are leading practitioners in senior corporate roles such as Directors, Chief Executive Officers, Partners, HR Directors and senior digital experts. Our data shows that NEBMs experience spans a wide range of sectors which includes commercial experience: Charity 48% Government (central) 47% Financial and Insurance Activities 45% Technology 32% Retail 28% Consumer Goods & Services: 25% Consumer services Professional and business services: 25% Management consulting Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 22% Education 22% Health and Social Work Activities 22% Media 22% Consumer Goods & Services: 20% Consumer non-durables Online Retail 20% Government (other) 18% Information and Communication 18% When considering new appointments, departments examine the results and skills needs identified in their board effectiveness reviews. This process helps to identify where there are any gaps in skills and experience and new appointments can be made taking this into account. This will ensure that departments have the right people around the table so that the board as a whole is functioning optimally and equipped to respond to the needs and priorities of the department. However, the benefits of commercial experience being strongly represented at Board level we believe to be very apparent.