Appointments (Hansard, 30 March 1994)

§ Mr. Matthew Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the organisations and individuals who have been asked, since June 1992, to submit names of individuals to be considered for appointments to paid and unpaid posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment.

§ Mr. Baldry
In November 1992, the Department commissioned Succession Planning Associates, a firm of executive search consultants, to identify women and ethnic minority candidates suitable for appointment to DOE-sponsored public bodies and now maintains a list of the names they obtained. The consultants approached a wide range of organisations and individuals in order to draw up their list. In addition, the Departtment usually asks the public appointments unit of the Cabinet Office for information on possible candidates. The Department welcomes inquiries from people interested in serving on the boards of its non-departmental public bodies.
Individuals from all walks of life may approach the Department and appointments are made on the basis of aptitude and merit. The Department has produced a form for self-nomination which is issued on request.

§ Mr. Matthew Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the organisations and individuals outside his Department who are sent information on, or consulted about, individuals who are, or 849W may be, proposed to the Minister for appointment to posts for which a Minister has to approve the person appointed or the shortlist for the appointment.

§ Mr. Baldry
The Department follows the advice on consultation set out in the Cabinet Office's "Guide on Public Appointments Procedures", a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library. In addition to consulting in accordance with the guide, the need for any wider consultation is borne in mind depending on the individual circumstances of the particular appointments under consideration.

§ Mr. Matthew Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list each appointment for which a Minister has to approve the appointment or shortlist for the appointment, showing for each appointment(a) which Minister exercises the responsibility, (b) the salary, if any, attached to the post, (c) the term of the appointment and (d) the person currently appointed to the post.

§ Mr. Baldry
A list of the appointments to nationalised industries and non-departmental public bodies, and their salaries, is published annually in "Public Bodies", a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library. Other appointments by the Secretary of State, and their salaries, were listed in my answer of 1 March to the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood (Dr. Wright). No central record is maintained of names of the persons currently appointed, who number over 900, or the terms of their appointments.
All appointments are the responsibility of the Secretary of State, other than those identified as exceptions in "Public Bodies" and my answer of 1 March to the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood, Official Report, columns 638–39.

§ Mr. Matthew Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what procedures his Department has to prevent the possible appointment of individuals with extreme political views to posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment;
(2) what information his Department holds or obtains relating to individuals who have been appointed, or may be considered for appointment, to paid or unpaid posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment, in particular relating to active involvement in (a) extreme left wing organisations, (b) extreme right wing organisations and (c) involvement in any of the political parties represented in the House of Commons.

§ Mr. Baldry
The Department has no procedures for obtaining or storing information about political views. Nomination forms provided by the Department and the public appointments unit of the Cabinet Office do not contain questions about candidates' political affiliations. The aim of the appointment system is to obtain candidates who, on the basis of merit and experience, are considered the most suitable for the posts in question. Information to assist the Department is obtained from the nomination form, followed by shortlisting and interview, the taking-up of references and advice from other Government Departments.