§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what rules govern appointments to non-departmental public bodies; and what have been the(a) ethnic, (b) gender and (c) party breakdown of these appointments in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002. [72445]
§ Mr. AlexanderAppointments to non-departmental public bodies made by Ministers are subject to the Commissioner for Public Appointments' code of practice, and regulated accordingly. Appointments to tribunals follow the code of practice as best practice, but are not regulated by the Commissioner. It is Government policy that appointments to non-departmental public bodies, not made by Ministers, also follow the code as best practice.
The Commissioner for Public Appointments issued the seventh annual report on 17 July 2002. Included in this publication are tables showing details of gender, ethnicity, disability, and political activity of those appointed for regulated appointments made in the year ending 31 March 2002, and a comparative set of figures for the previous five years. Additionally, the Cabinet Office's annual publication, "Public Bodies", includes details of diversity in public appointments as a cumulative total rather than for those appointments made in any one year. "Public Bodies 2002" will be published shortly.