Public Bodies (Hansard, 16 December 1993)

§ Dr. Wright
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the appointments made to public bodies by his Department since 1992 have been advertised.

§ Mr. Norris
Appointments made by my right hon. Friend since 1992 which had been advertised are the Rail Regulator and the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising, both of whom head non-ministerial Government departments, and the Scottish Traffic Commissioner.
The post of deputy traffic commissioner for the west midlands and south Wales traffic areas was advertised recently, but an appointment has not yet been made.
Like other employers, we also advertise some internal posts.

§ Dr. Wright
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is regarding the use of executive search consultants in making appointments to public bodies; and if he will(a) list the appointments where such consultants have been used and (b) list the cost in each case since April 1992.

§ Mr. Norris
The Department's policy is to use executive search consultants wherever this is thought necessary to obtain a wide field of suitable candidates for 829W important full-time appointments or high profile part-time appointments, in particular where it has not been possible to identify suitable candidates from the public appointments unit's list or other sources.
In 1992, executive search consultants were used to identify candidates to serve initially as advisors on regulation and franchising and then, subject to parliamentary approval of the Railways Bill, to take up appointment as the Rail Regulator and Director of Passenger Rail Franchising. At the same time, the consultants were asked to search for candidates for two appointments to the BR board, subsequently combined into one. The cost of search for candidates for the posts was £103,428 for fees, expenses and VAT, plus £28,670 for advertising costs.
Consultants were also used by London Transport in 1992 in the search for candidates for appointment to the board as chief executive. The cost of this was borne by LT and is a matter for them.