Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appointments
Public Accounts Committee
HC 460
Published 8 May 2024
Recommendations
4
Accepted
Publish new public appointments diversity action plan and report on panel diversity data collection.
Recommendation
The appointments process is not set up to encourage diversity amongst NEDs. In June 2019, the government launched a Public Appointments Diversity Action Plan to focus on broadening access and improving the diversity and quality of appointees. The plan included …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to the recommendation and commits to starting data collection on the diversity makeup of Advisory Assessment Panel members across departments in the 2025-26 financial year, for subsequent publication.
HM Treasury
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5
Accepted
Evaluate outreach activities, enhance NED training, and create a new governance code.
Recommendation
We are not convinced that current outreach activities are helping government to recruit the best candidates for NED roles. The Cabinet Office, the Government Lead Non-Executive, and the Commissioner for Public Appointments have all publicly declared their interest in improving …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees with the recommendation and claims it is already implemented, believing the current system for job descriptions and scrutiny works appropriately. It commits only to reinforcing the message of quality assurance and clearance in existing public appointment guidance documents.
HM Treasury
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11
Deferred
Cabinet Office lacks comprehensive data on total non-executive directors serving across government boards.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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 collection challenges and resource implications.
HM Treasury
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12
Accepted
Cabinet Office does not recognise non-executive directors as a distinct appointment category.
Recommendation
We challenged the Cabinet Office on how it can provide effective oversight if it does not know how many NEDs there are serving on all government boards. The Cabinet Office responded that it does not recognise NEDs as a distinct …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to include data in its annual public appointments data report about numbers and diversity of non-executive directors specifically and unregulated public appointments, with a target implementation date of April 2025.
HM Treasury
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13
Accepted in Part
No central list or mandatory system use currently exists for unregulated public appointments.
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office told us that it does not have a central list of how many unregulated appointments there are.20 It said that it does not currently have central oversight of any aspect on unregulated appointments and it is not …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office will write to departments to encourage wider use of the applicant tracking system for unregulated appointments by the end of December 2024, but stops short of mandating it due to resource and capacity considerations.
HM Treasury
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15
Accepted
Explicit standards of independence for NEDs are lacking; political donations not tracked.
Recommendation
We questioned the witnesses about what standards of independence they would expect from NEDs, in particular how independent they should be from ministers with whom they will be working. The Cabinet Office told us that this is not set out …
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Government Response Summary
The government believes the current processes are rigorous and therefore does not consider further guidance or process necessary.
HM Treasury
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17
Accepted
Cabinet Office failed to meet 2022 diversity targets and lacks future aspirations.
Recommendation
In June 2019, the Cabinet Office launched a Public Appointments Diversity Action Plan (the Plan”) to focus on broadening access and improving the diversity and quality of appointees.31 The Plan set out ambitions for 50% of all public appointees to …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office will publish a new plan to improve diversity across the public appointments system by October 2025.
HM Treasury
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18
Accepted
Government lacks comprehensive diversity data for NEDs, particularly on social background and disability.
Recommendation
We questioned the witnesses about their current approach to diversity. The Government’s Lead Non-Executive noted that he thought the only target that would make sense in the long-run would be a 50% split of gender between men and women.34 The …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office will publish a new plan to improve diversity across the public appointments system by October 2025.
HM Treasury
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19
Accepted
No requirement or tracking exists for scrutinising job advertisements for unconscious bias.
Recommendation
We asked about what was done to address conscious or unconscious bias in the way jobs are advertised and described. The Cabinet Office said that the written description and criteria were vital and, indeed, served as the basis for judging …
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Government Response Summary
The government states that job descriptions and advertisements are already scrutinized and cleared by a senior civil servant and the responsible minister, and will reinforce the message of appropriate quality assurance and clearance in public appointment guidance documents.
HM Treasury
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21
Deferred
Cabinet Office does not monitor diversity of Advisory Assessment Panels, contributing to insular processes.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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 of a new approach to data and transparency.
HM Treasury
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23
Accepted
Outreach measurement for public appointments remains incomplete, lacking social and professional background data.
Recommendation
We questioned the witnesses about their outreach initiatives and how success will be measured. When we asked how they measured success of “roadshow” events, the Cabinet Office told us that it tracks whether people sign up on the website and …
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Government Response Summary
The government stated it has revamped its talent and outreach offer, reaching over 2,500 people and doubling its social media reach, and will continue and enhance this activity, while tracking the progress of attendees through the applicant tracking system.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (12)
2
Conclusion
Accepted
The Cabinet Office does not yet have the data it needs to oversee the appointments process effectively. Until April 2023, the Cabinet Office’s only method of collecting data about public appointments was a manual exercise, requesting data from departments once a year, in which errors and inconsistencies were common. Its …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees the new applicant tracking system should be preferred and will write to all departments by the end of December 2024 to encourage wider use for unregulated appointments. They note that expanding full use will require an incremental approach to build capacity.
3
Conclusion
Accepted
The Cabinet Office does not publish transparent information about NEDs, the diversity of panels who select them, or the requirements for independence in these roles. The Cabinet Office publishes an annual report on regulated public appointments, of which there were 4,476 in post as of March 2022. However, this report …
Government Response Summary
The government states it considers current processes for integrity and independence, governed by existing codes and principles, to be rigorous and therefore does not deem further guidance or process necessary. They also disagree with a separate recommendation regarding consulting the Commissioner on unregulated appointments.
1
Conclusion
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office, the Government’s Lead Non-Executive, and the Chair of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) about non-executive director appointments across government departments and public bodies.1
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, describing ongoing work by the Cabinet Office to improve efficiency, training, and data use in the public appointments system, including establishing a digital resources hub.
6
Conclusion
Accepted
The NAO and the Commissioner for Public Appointments have noted that delays can put off candidates, leading them to withdraw their application or deterring them from applying in the first place.8 The Cabinet Office also told us that its outreach work showed that people can feel put off applying in …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to review and consult on how to streamline recruitment and selection processes to reduce delays and improve diversity, with the outcomes to be published in a new approach by October 2025.
7
Conclusion
Accepted
The Cabinet Office agreed that it is not satisfactory that the appointments process takes so long. It noted that it is a ministerial priority to speed up the process. It reported that its latest data shows the number has fallen from an average 203 days in 2022–23 to 146 days, …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the principle of transparency but states that the current process, where ministers publish decisions and the Commissioner for Public Appointments records exceptional appointments, is already sufficient and no new, separate publication process is necessary.
8
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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 with a mandatory requirement.
9
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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.
10
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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.
14
Conclusion
Deferred
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 Summary
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 publication.
16
Conclusion
Not Addressed
We also questioned the Cabinet Office about the requirements for independent panel members and senior independent panel members who served on the Advisory Assessment Panels (“Panels”).28 All Panels are expected to have an independent member. “Significant” appointments, as laid out in a particular list, are required by the Governance Code …
Government Response Summary
The government believes the current processes are rigorous and therefore does not consider further guidance or process necessary.
20
Conclusion
Deferred
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 Summary
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 publish this data regularly and confirm its intentions as part of implementing a new approach to data and transparency by April 2025.
22
Conclusion
Accepted
The Cabinet Office told us that one of its priorities is outreach, to develop a talent pool of potential applicants. The Government’s Lead Non-Executive and the Commissioner for Public Appointments have also declared their intention to improve outreach. The Cabinet Office told us that it has reached out to private-sector …
Government Response Summary
The government stated it has revamped its talent and outreach offer, reaching over 2,500 people and doubling its social media reach, and will continue and enhance this activity, while tracking the progress of attendees through the applicant tracking system.