1 Introduction
1. The Government put forward proposals about pre-appointment
hearings in July 2007. It stated:
"… the Government believes the time is
now right to go further and seek to involve Parliament in the
appointment of key public officials … there are a number
of positions in which Parliament has a particularly strong interest
because the officeholder exercises statutory or other powers in
relation to protecting the public's rights and interests. Some
of these appointments are not subject to oversight by the Commissioner
for Public Appointments or other form of independent scrutiny.
The Government therefore believes that Parliament,
through its select committees, should play this role. It therefore
proposes that the Government nominee for key positions such as
those listed below should be subject to a pre-appointment hearing
with the relevant select committee. The hearing would be non-binding,
but in the light of the report from the committee, Ministers would
decide whether to proceed. The hearings would cover issues such
as the candidate's suitability for the role, his or her key priorities,
and the process used in selection."[1]
2. The Liaison Committee welcomed the proposals,
but stressed that in addition to professional competence, Committees
should examine the independence of candidates. It stated:
We share the Government's aim to create a process
that can "both enhance the role of Parliament in scrutinising
public appointments and maintain an appointments process which
is proportionate and continues to attract high quality candidates."
To this end, we have prepared a set of guidelines which we
believe should ensure that any hearing is conducted appropriately.[2]
3. On 30 April 2008, the Secretary of State invited
the Health Committee to hold a pre-appointment hearing in respect
of Baroness Young of Old Scone, the candidate for Chair of the
Care Quality Commission (CQC). The Committee held the hearing
on the 8 May. We are grateful to Baroness Young for making herself
available to give oral evidence at short notice.
4. The Report looks first at the CQC and the role
of the Chair. The next chapter looks at the appointment process.
Finally we consider the suitability of the candidate.
1 Ministry of Justice, The Governance of Britain,
Cm 7170, July 2007, paras 74-76, 80 Back
2
Liaison Committee, First Report of Session 2007-08, Pre-appointment
hearing by select committees, HC 384, p.8-9 Back
| 
