§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Employment what precise qualifications or experience the recently appointed Director-General of the Health and Safety Commission, Mr. John Rimington, has; how many applications there were for the post; how many were interviewed and how long the interviews took of each candidate; and who sat upon the interviewing panel.
§ Mr. GummerPrior to Mr. Rimington's appointment as the Director-General of the Health and Safety Executive he was director of the safety policy and information services division of the executive. He has had a wide and varied career in the public service mainly in jobs connected with industry, trade and employment both in the United Kingdom and, at various stages, abroad.
The post of director-general was publicly advertised. There were 149 applications. Twelve of this number were interviewed by a panel chaired by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission and composed of commission members representing the Confederation of British Industry, the Trades Union Congress and the local authority associations and an official from the Department of Employment. The average length of the interviews was 45 minutes.