§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance he has issued to non-departmental public bodies following the Cadbury and Greenbury reports; and if the guidance reflects all the recommendations in those reports. [20432]
§ Mr. FreemanFollowing the publication of the Cadbury report and its recommended code of best practice, the Treasury prepared a model code of best practice for board members of public bodies, which was issued in June 1994. This applied the Cadbury principles, where appropriate, to members of public bodies such as executive non-departmental public bodies. The model code has recently been revised and replaced by guidance on codes of practice for board members of public bodies, which was published by the Cabinet Office (OPS) in February 1997 in the White Paper "The Governance of Public Bodies: A Progress Report", Cm 3557. New or revised codes, taking account of the guidance and tailored to the particular circumstances of the body, should be in place for all executive NDPBs by 1 June 1997.
No specific guidance has been issued to NDPBs following the Greenbury report. Responsibility for the pay and conditions of service of chairmen and board members of executive NDPBs is primarily a matter for sponsor Departments. Remuneration of chairman, board member and chief executive appointments to NDPBs is published in "Public Bodies 1996", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
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§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to ensure that non-executive directors appointed to non-departmental public bodies do not have previous contractual arrangements with the body concerned. [20431]
§ Mr. FreemanPrevious contractual arrangements with a non-departmental public body should not automatically debar a candidate from subsequent appointment to it. Whether any potential conflicts of interest exist is a matter which should be determined by the selection procedure for the appointment in question, for example by a selection board during an interview of the candidate. The Commissioner for Public Appointments will be considering whether this matter should be covered in his revised guidance, which is due to be published in July 1997. Guidance to NDPBs on handling conflicts of interest has recently been revised as part of the guidance on codes of practice for board members of public bodies, published last month in the White Paper "The Governance of Public Bodies: A Progress Report", Cm 3557.