Recommendation 11

The Corporate Governance Code stipulates that non-executive board members should be appointed on merit through a fair and open process. The current Government Lead Non-Executive told the Committee that a small proportion of NEDs currently in post have been directly appointed and, since he took on the The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government 35 role in March 2022, every post had been advertised on the Cabinet Office public appointments website. However, our evidence suggests that these practices have varied considerably over time and the Committee is concerned by the lack of consistency, accountability, and transparency surrounding how NEDs are recruited. We believe it is completely unsatisfactory that departments are not consistently providing information in the public domain about the process for appointing NEDs, nor abiding by the requirement to justify departures from the Corporate Governance Code in departments’ annual report and accounts. The Committee also recognises the potential impact that departing from a fair and open process may have on the diversity of the candidates and the composition of the board.