It is our intention that appointments made to the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) by the Secretary of State will be devolved to the Appointments Commission who will work with CHRE on the precise process. We understand that CHRE intends to seek the views, as appropriate, of patient and service user organisations on the attributes for council members. They will also be able to draw on the recommendations made by Niall Dickson in his report ‘Enhancing Confidence in Healthcare Professional Regulation’, which we intend to publish soon. All the appointments to the new council for CHRE will be public members (it will not be possible for a health professional or ex-health professional to be appointed).