Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Thirtieth Report - Non-executive appointments
Public Accounts Committee
HC 460
Published 8 May 2024
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirtieth report from Session 2023-24 · published 11 Jul 2025
Recommendations & Conclusions
8
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Public appointments data collection prior to April 2023 was manual, infrequent, and error-prone.
Conclusion
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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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9
Conclusion
Acknowledged
New centralised applicant-tracking system launched to improve public appointments data collection.
Conclusion
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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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10
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Departments fail to consistently use new system, resulting in inaccurate and delayed data.
Conclusion
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, …
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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.
HM Treasury
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