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Non-executive director appointments

Status: Closed Opened: 10 Jan 2024 Closed: 28 May 2024 11 recommendations 12 conclusions 1 report

Non-executive directors (NEDs) serve on the boards of Government departments and arm’s-length bodies (ALBs). Their role is to provide challenge and expert advice grounded in experience to management boards and Government ministers. The Committee’s 2021 report on Government’s delivery through arm’s-length bodies noted controversy around the appointment of NEDs to departmental boards as raising questions …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appointments HC 460 8 May 2024 23 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
11 Recommendation Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appoin… Deferred

Cabinet Office lacks comprehensive data on total non-executive directors serving across government boards.

The Cabinet Office does not know how many NEDs in total are serving on all government boards, including ALBs and government companies. The Cabinet Office and the Commissioner for Public Appointments collect data on regulated public appointments. However, the available data do not differentiate between types of public appointments, so …

Government response. The government will consider including data on numbers and diversity of non-executive directors and unregulated public appointments in its annual public appointments data report as part of a new approach to data and transparency from April 2025, but notes data …
HM Treasury
14 Conclusion Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appoin… Deferred

Cabinet Office yet to outline a plan for improving transparency of appointment data.

We asked when the Cabinet Office will decide what information it will provide to Ministers, and to Parliament, in order to improve transparency of the appointment process. The Cabinet Office acknowledged that the system was not working perfectly yet and said that it would be introducing some enhancements.23 The Cabinet …

Government response. The Cabinet Office will implement a refreshed approach to data and transparency in relation to public appointments from April 2025 and review the process and content of its report on public appointments to improve transparency and consider more frequent data …
HM Treasury
20 Conclusion Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appoin… Deferred

Ministerial responsibility for Advisory Assessment Panel composition affects diversity in public appointments.

Advisory Assessment Panels serve an important role in the appointment process. The panel determines the shortlist, interviews candidates, and produces a list of 31 C&AG’s Report, para 14 32 Cabinet Office, Public Appointments Diversity Action Plan 2019, page 5 33 Q 72; C&AG’s Report, para 14 34 Q 68 35 …

Government response. The Cabinet Office is considering whether to bring forward plans to collect panel member information via the digital platform in the 2025-26 financial year, but requires further detailed scoping work. The government will further consider whether it is able to …
HM Treasury
21 Recommendation Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appoin… Deferred

Cabinet Office does not monitor diversity of Advisory Assessment Panels, contributing to insular processes.

We asked the Cabinet Office if it monitors and publishes a breakdown of the diversity of panel members, including gender and ethnicity details. The Cabinet Office said that it does not monitor the composition of Advisory Assessment Panels. It told us that Advisory Assessment Panels are dealt with within each …

Government response. The Cabinet Office will consider collecting and publishing diversity data on Advisory Assessment Panel members via the digital platform in the 2025-26 financial year, but this is contingent on scoping work. They will confirm intentions by April 2025 as part …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
18 Mar 2024 Elizabeth Passey · Rural Payments Agency, Michael Jary · Cabinet Office, Simon Madden · NHSX, Sir Alex Chisholm · Cabinet Office View ↗

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
16 Apr 2024 — Correspondence from Simon Madden, Director of Propriety & Ethics, Cabinet Offic…
15 Apr 2024 — Correspondence from Simon Madden, Director of Propriety & Ethics, Cabinet Offic…
15 Apr 2024 — Joint correspondence from Sir Alex Chisholm, Civil Service Chief Operating Offi…