8
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appoin…
Acknowledged
Until April 2023, the Cabinet Office’s only method of collecting data about public appointments was a manual exercise once a year, so it did not hold real-time data on delays. Departments were required to provide information about all those serving in post as regulated public appointments on March 31 of …
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Until April 2023, the Cabinet Office’s only method of collecting data about public appointments was a manual exercise once a year, so it did not hold real-time data on delays. Departments were required to provide information about all those serving in post as regulated public appointments on March 31 of the given year. Departments would also provide data on recruitment campaigns undertaken during the previous year, including information about the candidates who applied, those shortlisted, those found appointable, and those appointed. It did not provide granular data about where and when delays took place. As the data were produced and processed manually by departments, errors and inconsistencies were common.14 6 C&AG’s Report, para 7 7 Q 59; C&AG’s Report, para 2.4 8 C&AG’s Report, para 2.6; The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Annual Report 2022–23 9 Q 65 10 Q 59; C&AG’s Report, para 2.6 11 Q 67 12 It should be noted that the latest figure of 146 days provided by witnesses (Q59) is unaudited. Furthermore, it is not clear how many appointments the figure of 146 days refers to, or when those appointments occurred. This report therefore uses the figure of 203 days throughout: this figure is an NAO calculated figure that relates to the latest complete financial year (2022–23) at the time of the Committee’s hearing on 18 March 2024. 13 Qq 59, 62 14 C&AG’s Report, paras 9, 2.3, 2.9 Non-executive appointments 11
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and states that NED recruitment became regulated in June 2023. It commits to strongly encouraging attendance at board meetings and reflecting this in the next update of the existing Corporate Governance Code, rather than drawing up a new code …
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HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appoin…
Acknowledged
In April 2023, the Cabinet Office launched a new, centralised applicant-tracking system that consolidates the selection process for all regulated public appointments and some unregulated appointments. The centralised system makes it possible for the Cabinet Office to collect richer, real-time data on the appointments. The recruiting department is expected to …
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In April 2023, the Cabinet Office launched a new, centralised applicant-tracking system that consolidates the selection process for all regulated public appointments and some unregulated appointments. The centralised system makes it possible for the Cabinet Office to collect richer, real-time data on the appointments. The recruiting department is expected to manage the entire process through the applicant-tracking system and the system will keep detailed records of each step of the process. This should allow both the appointing body and the Cabinet Office to have a better idea of how long campaigns take and where the bottlenecks are, and to notify ministers of delays, where or when candidates might drop out, and which campaigns fail to fill the required posts.15
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Government response AI summary
The government aims to have all regulated appointments being run through the new applicant tracking system by Summer 2025, with technical changes to the digital platform to allow further integration of data.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appoin…
Acknowledged
The NAO reported that some departments were still running the process outside of the new system and entering data into the system after the fact, instead of in real time. The NAO also noted that basic errors in data entry, such as inverting dates, meant that the data generated by …
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The NAO reported that some departments were still running the process outside of the new system and entering data into the system after the fact, instead of in real time. The NAO also noted that basic errors in data entry, such as inverting dates, meant that the data generated by the new system were not accurate.16 We asked the Cabinet Office what it was doing to address these problems: it told us that it agreed that this was not satisfactory and shared our disappointment. It told us that it had written to all departments and all public bodies reminding them how to use the system correctly. It also told us that it had strengthened its guidance on how to properly use the system and had organised a series of training events.17 The lack of published information
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Government response AI summary
The government aims to have all regulated appointments being run through the new applicant tracking system by Summer 2025, with technical changes to the digital platform to allow further integration of data.
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HM Treasury