HL Deb 11 November 2004 vol 666 cc85-6WA
Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 7 September (WA 106) concerning the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission—

  1. (a) what instructions have been given to Saxton Bampfylde Hever regarding the recruitment of a new chief commissioner;
  2. (b) what is the geographical extent of the recruitment;
  3. (c) whether any potential applicants are to be approached directly;
  4. (d) how many applications have been made; and
  5. (e) what fee was agreed with the consultants. [HL4240]

The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)

(a) The instructions given to Saxton Bampfylde Hever were to identify a pool of suitable candidates for appointment as chief commissioner to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

The role of chief commissioner is a high-profile post requiring a range of skills and qualities. The criteria against which all candidates were asked to demonstrate their competencies were included in the application form.

(b) No geographical limit was placed on the extent of the search for applicants. A candidate for the post of chief commissioner need not live in Northern Ireland but the information pack stated that they must have an understanding of the historical and political background to human rights in Northern Ireland. Any candidate whose home is elsewhere and does not intend to move to Northern Ireland would need to demonstrate a willingness to spend at least several days in Northern Ireland most weeks.

(c) Selection is carried out in line with OCPA guidelines. All candidates whether approached by headhunters or nominated by a political party are required to undergo the same process as all other candidates.

(d) We received 14 applications for the post of chief commissioner.

(e) The fee agreed with Saxton Bampfylde Hever was £37,835.

Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether interviews have been conducted for new commissioners for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; and when will they take place.[HL4241]

Baroness Amos

Interviews for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission are underway and, because of the need to ensure representativeness, a broad spread of candidates are being interviewed. For this reason interviews will continue into the New Year.

Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 14 September (WA 178), who successfully requested an extension of the deadline for applications to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; for what reason this extension was granted; and whether it is usual practice for the commission to respond in this manner. [HL4284]

Baroness Amos

The Government received representations from a number of interested parties to extend the closing date for receipt of applications to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

While the time we gave originally for completion of applications was reasonable (almost five weeks), a number of people argued that it would take more time to persuade potential applicants that this was a fair appointments process to a credible organisation.

We judged that an extension would be in the best interests of the commission and extended the closing date from 16 to 28 July 2004. It was important that as broad a cross-section of the community as possible applied for a commission which the Secretary of State has a responsibility to ensure is representative.