06 June 2008
Candidates for major public sector posts, such as the auditor general and the chief education and prisons inspectors, are to be quizzed by MPs before they take up their appointments.
The government has published a list of 60 public sector appointments that will be subject to increased parliamentary scrutiny. This forms part of its response to the Commons' liaison committee's report, Pre-appointment hearings by select committees, which called for more parliamentary input into the public appointment process.
View a list of the 60 posts here
It also takes forward proposals outlined in the government's constitutional renewal green paper, which promised to increase the democratic scrutiny of public appointments.
Ed Miliband, minister for the Cabinet Office, said: 'Pre-appointment hearings by select committees are part of the government's desire to make the Executive more accountable to Parliament.
'Regulators, ombudsmen and other public bodies exercise significant power over people's lives and it is right that the appointment of these powerful posts should be subject to scrutiny by Parliament. I hope hearings for appointments to the 60 key posts will help ensure a high standard of accountability and service to the public.'
The process can begin immediately and one session has taken place. The health select committee invited Baroness Young, incoming chair of the Care Quality Commission, to a hearing on May 8, and recommended she take up the post.
The Cabinet Office said the hearings would be introduced on a pilot basis and at the discretion of the relevant select committee. Government and Parliament will work together to evaluate their success, a spokeswoman said.
The National Audit Office told Public Finance the change was unlikely to have any immediate impact on the post of auditor general. Following Sir John Bourn's departure, Tim Burr is heading the NAO until the governance changes included in the constitutional renewal green paper are enacted. These provide the organisation with a non-executive chair and ensure that no auditor general serves for more than ten years.
PFjun2008
