§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures they intend to take to ensure that the political affiliations of those appointed by Ministers to public bodies, as evidenced by their political activities, more accurately reflect the political affiliations of the electorate as a whole. [HL441]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonOn the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life all applicants for public appointment must answer the standard question on political activity. The Commissioner for Public Appointments designed the format of the question after consultation with the Government and the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The question is set out in the commissioner's code.
Political activity should not be regarded as either an aid to or a barrier to appointment. For monitoring 82WA purposes only, information is requested and collected on the political activity of applicants. Information on political affiliation is not collected, nor is personal or private information such as membership of political parties or voting preferences.
The overriding principle of public appointments is selection on merit, except where statute dictates specific representation or in other strictly limited instances.
The Comissioner for Public Appointments seventh report shows that in 2001–02, 20.7 per cent of total appointees and re-appointees declared some form of political activity.