Recommendation 18

Recent controversy around the appointment of non-executive directors to departmental boards has raised questions about whether the public appointments process is fit for purpose.39 When this Committee last reported on ALBs in 2016, we recommended that Cabinet Office should streamline the public appointments process and that it should update us on progress in implementing the Grimstone Review.40 The Cabinet Office told us that in 2016, in response to the Grimstone Review, it published a Governance Code on Public Appointments. This provides guidance to departments on the public appointments process, including on the management of conflicts of interest.41 However, the Cabinet Office does not check whether the Code is being followed in practice and considers departments to be responsible for ensuring that their appointments are in line with the code.42