§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will make a statement on the methodology involved in the appointment of a new Sergeant at Arms. [187403]
§ Sir Archy KirkwoodThe Serjeant at Arms is a Crown appointment, made on the recommendation of the Speaker. Following the announcement that the current Serjeant at Arms, Sir Michael Cummins, would shortly retire, the Speaker decided that the post should be advertised both internally and externally, in the national press. A recruitment board was set up under the chairmanship of the Clerk of the House. It included an external member, drawn from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments' central list of independent assessors, and the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) as a representative of the Commission. The board agreed a long list of candidates for preliminary interviews by external recruitment consultants and, subsequently, a short list for final interviews, conducted by the board. As a result 1339W of this process, the Speaker recommended the appointment of Major General Anthony Peter Grant Peterkin, CB, OBE. His appointment was announced to the House on 20 July and he will take over from Sir Michael on 1 January 2005.