BRIEFING PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS: WHAT ARE THEY, AND WHY DO THEY

The rules for appointments made by UK ministers are set by the Governance Code on Public Appointments, which is published by the government and lays out the division of responsibilities and powers between ministers and the appointment panel: • Appointments must be publicly advertised. [...] There have been consistent calls, including from the bodies named above, to put the Commissioner and the existence of the Code into statute. [...] This risks having a ‘chilling effect’ on the field – creating the impression that the competition is a mere formality, and deterring other good candidates from applying – as noted by the Heppinstall Report into Richard Sharp’s appointment to the BBC. [...] How can the public appointments system be strengthened? It is in everyone’s interest – including of ministers, MPs, and the public – to ensure that the public appointments system can deliver the best qualified candidates for crucial public service roles. [...] Beyond this, the public appointments system will work as intended only if ministers adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of the rules.