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Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Letter from Rt Hon Nadine Dorries MP, Secretary of State for DCMS, relating to Another pre-appointment hearing for Chair of the Charity Commission Report, 5 April 2022

Published 21 April 2022

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Pre-appointment hearing for Chair of the Charity Commission 2 Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance

The government's response

This document responds to Tenth Report - Another pre-appointment hearing for Chair of the Charity Commission.

This is the government's response, published 21 April 2022.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Secretary of State remains confident that Orlando Fraser is the best person to chair the Charity Commission and sees no reason not to proceed with his appointment.

  • On the decision not to re-run the process after Martin Thomas's resignation, the Secretary of State "note[s]" the Committee's comments and "recognise[s]" its frustrations, but does not believe the resignation affects Mr Fraser's ability to undertake the role.
  • The Department says it carried out enhanced due diligence on Mr Fraser after the Permanent Secretary's appearance before the Committee, and "nothing came to light of any concern".
  • The Government considers the appointment complied with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, citing the Commissioner for Public Appointments, who "found no impropriety in the process".
  • On diversity of the shortlist, the Secretary of State "acknowledge[s]" the Committee's concerns and says DCMS "will continue to take targeted action on areas where improvement is required". She "respectfully disagree[s]" with the Committee's view of a "lack of care, attention and commitment to quality".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

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