Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 27 October 2010
27 Oct 2010 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Public Bodies (Ministerial Appointments)
I am happy to make a very brief contribution to this short debate and to support the committee’s endorsement of the draft revised code of practice, subject to the comments that the committee’s convener has made.
It is clear that people who are appointed to public bodies should have the appropriate skills and knowledge to allow them to make a useful contribution to the work of the bodies on which they serve. In seeking the right people for the positions in question, it should be open to anyone with those skills and knowledge to apply and to be considered for appointment by ministers.
The appointing board must have the necessary levels of skills and knowledge to be able to select the right people to recommend for appointment by ministers, because it is crucial to get the right people in position for each public body.
One of my concerns, on which I questioned the commissioner when the committee took evidence from her, is about the competence of panel members who are tasked with assessing applicants for public appointments. That issue was flagged up in consultation on the revised code by stakeholders who include—importantly—the chairs of public bodies.
The current code requires selection panel members to be familiar with its content, but it does not say that panel members must be competent to assess applicants by the assessment methods that are chosen, nor does it require them to be knowledgeable about equality and diversity issues and about how such matters might affect the outcome of appointment rounds. I share the commissioner’s belief that a requirement for competence and knowledge of those matters should have an impact on the people who apply for roles on selection panels and—ultimately—on the make-up of the boards that they select. I therefore agree with her that those attributes should be a requirement in the revised code of practice. The committee made no comment on that in our report, so we agree, too.
Some selection panel members might well have all the necessary skills and knowledge at the outset, but I am reassured by plans to support new members and to help them to develop in their roles. It is important that selection panellists are effective and can select the right people to put before ministers for appointment.
When I asked the commissioner whether she envisaged a general induction for new panel members, she said that
“quite a good briefing happens at the panel pre-meeting”—[Official Report, Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, 14 September 2010; c 399.]
and that she plans to run familiarisation workshops on the new code. She intends to use the five months between the code’s publication on 1 April and its implementation on 1 September for training. If the Government says that it, too, would like some initial training of panellists, that could be done in the months from April to September.
In this short debate, not all speakers can go into detail on all aspects of the revised code, but the committee’s convener did so ably at the start. I will close merely by reiterating that I am happy to support the motion that is in his name.
16:16
It is clear that people who are appointed to public bodies should have the appropriate skills and knowledge to allow them to make a useful contribution to the work of the bodies on which they serve. In seeking the right people for the positions in question, it should be open to anyone with those skills and knowledge to apply and to be considered for appointment by ministers.
The appointing board must have the necessary levels of skills and knowledge to be able to select the right people to recommend for appointment by ministers, because it is crucial to get the right people in position for each public body.
One of my concerns, on which I questioned the commissioner when the committee took evidence from her, is about the competence of panel members who are tasked with assessing applicants for public appointments. That issue was flagged up in consultation on the revised code by stakeholders who include—importantly—the chairs of public bodies.
The current code requires selection panel members to be familiar with its content, but it does not say that panel members must be competent to assess applicants by the assessment methods that are chosen, nor does it require them to be knowledgeable about equality and diversity issues and about how such matters might affect the outcome of appointment rounds. I share the commissioner’s belief that a requirement for competence and knowledge of those matters should have an impact on the people who apply for roles on selection panels and—ultimately—on the make-up of the boards that they select. I therefore agree with her that those attributes should be a requirement in the revised code of practice. The committee made no comment on that in our report, so we agree, too.
Some selection panel members might well have all the necessary skills and knowledge at the outset, but I am reassured by plans to support new members and to help them to develop in their roles. It is important that selection panellists are effective and can select the right people to put before ministers for appointment.
When I asked the commissioner whether she envisaged a general induction for new panel members, she said that
“quite a good briefing happens at the panel pre-meeting”—[Official Report, Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, 14 September 2010; c 399.]
and that she plans to run familiarisation workshops on the new code. She intends to use the five months between the code’s publication on 1 April and its implementation on 1 September for training. If the Government says that it, too, would like some initial training of panellists, that could be done in the months from April to September.
In this short debate, not all speakers can go into detail on all aspects of the revised code, but the committee’s convener did so ably at the start. I will close merely by reiterating that I am happy to support the motion that is in his name.
16:16
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-7212, in the name of Gil Paterson, on the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee report ...
Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased to open this debate on the draft revised code of practice for ministerial appointments to public bodies in Scotland on behalf of the Standards, ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
You should be finishing now, Mr Paterson.
Gil Paterson
SNP
Okay.An element of subjectivity in appointments decisions would be necessary where a minister was presented with a choice of equally qualified candidates fro...
Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab)
Lab
I commend the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee for its diligence in preparing the draft revised code of practice, which is before us t...
Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I am happy to make a very brief contribution to this short debate and to support the committee’s endorsement of the draft revised code of practice, subject t...
Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD)
LD
As Paul Martin said, the debate has a link with the broader debate on the Cadder situation, which we are dealing with during the rest of the afternoon. The l...
The Minister for Parliamentary Business (Bruce Crawford)
SNP
Scottish ministers welcome the opportunity that the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee has given the Parliament to debate the Office of ...
Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to close the debate on behalf of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee. I thank members who contributed to the debate and ...