§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whom he intends to appoint to conduct the inquiry into appointments made by Noruh Lanarkshire council and if he will make a statement. [5514]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythUnder the powers conferred on me by section 211 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 I have appointed Mr. D. I. K. MacLeod to conduct the inquiry. Mr. MacLeod, a senior partner in Shepherd and Wedderburn WS, is a highly respected member of the legal profession in Scotland and an accredited specialist in employment law.
The formal terms of reference will be as follows:
To inquire into the question as to whether North Lanarkshire Council have, in relation to their appointment of Chief Officers, failed to comply with the duty imposed on them by section 7 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to make appointments to paid office or employment on merit, and to report thereon.The decision to establish this inquiry follows a number of complaints made to the Local Government Staff Commission (Scotland), which concluded that it was not able to give the council a clean bill of health.
The inquiry provides an opportunity to establish whether the complaints are justified and whether action such as re-running the appointment procedures is necessary. It is in the interests of all concerned that the matter should be resolved speedily but fairly and comprehensively and I have asked Mr. MacLeod to let me have his report by 31 January 1996.