§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the members of the Post Office Users National Council and their terms of office. [43327]
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§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsThe current members of the Post Office Users National Council, who are generally appointed for individual terms of 3 or 4 years, are:
Member Appointment expiry date John Hackney (Chairman) 30 September 1999 Eric Diston 31 December 1998 Rodger Gooding 31 December 1998 Gary Hepburn 31 December 1998 David Morris 31 December 1998 Edward V idler 31 December 1998 Dennis Wilson 31 December 1998 Dr. Stephanie Stray 31 December 1999 Frederick Bell 31 December 2000 Keith Hitchings 31 December 2000 Andrew Robertson1 30 September 1999 Eifion Pritchard1 30 September 2000 Gerard Trainor1 31 August 2000 1 Sit on the National Council by virtue of their appointments as Chairmen of the Post Office Users Councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland In the current round of appointments, I am seeking a more balanced representation in terms of gender and ethnic origin on all the Consumer Councils.
§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what the procedures are for nomination and appointment of members to the Post Office Users National Council. [43328]
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsThe procedures for appointments to the consumer councils for which I am responsible have been drawn up since Lord Nolan published his report and are fully compliant with the Guidance of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. An advertisement for appointments to a number of consumer councils, including the Post Office Users National Council, appears in the press annually. At the time of advertising we also seek nominations from a number of sources including the Council Chairmen, the Public Appointments Unit and all consumer representative organisations and minority groups. Applications are considered by an interview panel, which includes an independent representative, and a short list of candidates is interviewed. Thereafter Ministers select appointees from among all those successful at interview on the basis of merit. This year I expect to be able to confirm the appointments to the Post Office Users National Council by October. I am seeking to ensure that this recruitment provides for better representation of gender and ethnic minorities.
The procedures outlined above were drawn up by a Departmental Appointments Panel which has five independent members.