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6 April 2006

2006 Public appointments plan for HM Treasury

Introduction

The Treasury is committed to achieving the highest standards in public appointments.  Our processes are fair and transparent, and diversity is taken into account, and acted upon, both during recruitment campaigns and generally.

2.  Given the relatively few public appointments made by the Treasury, responsibility for individual campaigns is delegated to sponsor teams.  However, the Permanent Secretary’s office has overall responsibility for appointment and for all areas of propriety, and as a result public appointments are an integral part of the Treasury’s departmental management and strategy. 

3.  This annual plan separated into four sections as follows:

  • An overview of the appointments made by the Treasury;
  • Some details on the appointments the Treasury made in 2005-06;
  • Diversity statistics for the past three years; and
  • The Treasury’s future priorities for the coming three years. 

Overview of Treasury appointments

4.  The Treasury is responsible for 38 appointments to three Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs).  Those are the Governor, Deputy Governors and Non-Executive Directors to the Court of the Bank of England (Central Bank), the Chair and Commissioners of the Statistics Commission (Advisory NDPB) and the members of the Public Services Productivity Panel (Advisory NDPB).  

5.  Apart from the Governor and Deputy Governors to the Bank, each of those 38 appointments is OCPA-regulated.  Diversity targets for these bodies have been adopted and we continue to ensure that the appointment process for all our bodies follows best practice as set out in the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s Code of Practice.  Full details on the Treasury’s public bodies can be accessed via the Cabinet Office’s Public Bodies database.  

6.  In addition, Treasury Ministers also make appointments to bodies that are outside the scope of the Cabinet Office’s annual Public Bodies publication.  These are: the Chair and Non Executive Directors to Board of the Financial Services Authority; the Non Executive Directors to the National Savings and Investments Board; members of the Public Works Loan Board; and the Crown Estate Commissioners. 

Appointments in 2005-06      

7.  During 2005-2006 the Treasury recruited for six positions, covering the Court of the Bank of England and Commissioners to the Statistics Commission.  For these high profile campaigns, applications were encouraged from across the community.  We have widened our advertising by using the Cabinet Office Public Appointments Vacancies Website, alongside HM Treasury’s and the bodies’ websites. 

8.  We ensure that all advertising welcomes applications from suitably qualified under represented groups. Two example of best practice in 2005-06 were:

  • The advertisements for appointments to the Court of the Bank of England emphasising the importance of broad regional, national and sectoral balance, so that these interests were represented in decision making.  
  • In recruiting for four new Commissioners in 2005/06 the Statistics Commission took full account of diversity and national and sectoral balance.

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2005-06 Diversity report

9.  The Treasury’s latest figures for diversity in public appointments are set out below:

Position to date (as at 31 March 2006)
  2004 2005 2006
Total number of appointments 38 38  38
Women  12 (32%)  10 (26%) 6 (16%)
Ethnic minorities 2 (5%)  2 (5%) 3  (8%)
Disabled people 0 (0%)  0 (0%) 0 (0%)



   
 
   
 
  

 


Future priorities

10.  The Treasury will continue to work with sponsor bodies to explore ways in which its approach to diversity, indeed to appointments generally, can be improved. Our approach will take account of the fact that opportunities for increasing appointments from under represented groups are restricted by the forward programme of vacancies in the next three years, in particular the possibility of current incumbents being reappointed.

11.  The Treasury’s targets take account of the opportunities available against the Government’s overall commitment to equal representation of women and men, pro-rata representation of ethnic minorities and the increased participation of disabled people. 

12.  For 2006-07 to 2008-09 we aim to:

  • Ensure that the percentage of appointments held by women, currently 16%, and ethnic minorities, currently 8%, do not fall below those figures in 2007, and that they rise steadily towards 40% and remain or exceed 8% respectively in 2009;
  • Continue, through the advertising and publicity process, to encourage women, ethnic minority and disabled candidates to put themselves forward for appointment including, where appropriate, through Ministerial speeches;
  • Ensure that groups representing women, ethnic minority and disabled people are made aware of the Treasury’s commitment to achieving its diversity targets for public appointments and that they are encouraged to spread this message; and
  • Ensure that diversity issues are brought to the attention of all those involved in the appointments process, including the selection panel.

13.  If you have any questions about this plan, or Treasury public appointments generally, please contact:

Stephen Wiles
Assistant Private Secretary to Nicholas Macpherson
Permanent Secretary
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ
 
stephen.wiles@hm-treasury.gov.uk

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