To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the decision to appoint Christine Channon to the South West Regional Development Agency in November 2004 was made following open competition in accordance with the guidelines set down in the Commissioner for Public Appointments' code of practice. (169189)

Ministers make appointments to RDA bards following procedures in the code of practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and also with all relevant legislation.

This particular case followed normal practice of an open competition. The selection panel advised Ministers that several candidates fully satisfied the criteria and made a specific recommendation as to which of these candidates should be appointed.

On the basis of a key paragraph in the code of practice 3.36, however, departmental officials advised Ministers that it was open to them to appoint one of the other candidates judged by the panel as having fully satisfied established criteria if they so chose. On the basis of that advice Ministers appointed the other candidate.

The Department subsequently found that the advice given to Ministers (that they had freedom to choose among the candidates) was wrong. That advice was based on a misunderstanding of a key paragraph in the Code of Practice on Public Appointments, which at that time explicitly stated that

“Ministers will wish to balance boards in terms of diversity as well as skills and experience; consequently Departments may recommend that Ministers appoint any candidate who has fully met the selection criteria in order to assist in achieving a desired balance on a board’s membership”.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments subsequently revised the relevant paragraph in the code of practice to clarify this issue, it was changed to

“Ministers will wish to balance boards in terms of diversity of skills and experience as set out in the role description and person specification at the commencement of the process.”

The Department subsequently revised its processes accordingly to minimise the risk of any further breaches happening of this kind.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what processes were put in place in his Department following the appointment of Christine Channon in 2004 to prevent future such cases arising. (169190)

As a result of this case, the relevant paragraph in the code of practice 3.36 was changed by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. At the time of the decision, it read

“Ministers will wish to balance boards in terms of diversity as well as skills and experience; consequently Departments may recommend that Ministers appoint any candidate who has fully met the selection criteria in order to assist in achieving a desired balance on a board's membership”.

In August 2005 this was changed to read

“Ministers will wish to balance boards in terms of diversity of skills and experience as set out in the role description and person specification at the commencement of the process.”

The Department subsequently revised its processes accordingly to minimise the risk of any further breaches happening of this kind.