Four years ago, the TaxPayers’ Alliance reported that “in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories”.
Since then, the figures have varied, and some Conservative members or supporters have been selected to fill important posts.
Nonetheless, it remains the case that, since it took office in 2010, our Party has punched beneath its weight when it comes to public appointments. One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply don’t apply in the same number as Labour supporters.
To help remedy this, every fortnight we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives might be aware of the opportunities presented.
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Met Office – Chair
“The Met Office Chair is appointed by the Secretary of State for BEIS, and will be responsible for advising the Minister on the organisation’s overall direction and performance. The role of Chair is pivotal and demands effective strategic leadership of the Board and the ability to speak on its behalf. The Chair will work closely with the full-time Chief Executive, who is also the Met Office’s Accounting Officer… The Secretary of State is seeking applications from individuals with top-level strategic experience commensurate with the responsibilities and the challenges of the Met Office. Applicants are invited from both public and commercial settings.”
Time: 36 days per annum.
Remuneration: £35,000 per annum plus ‘reasonable expenses’.
Closes: 13 March
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Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy – Small Business Commissioner
“We are seeking to appoint the UK’s first Small Business Commissioner. This is a new statutory role covering the UK and established under provisions within the Enterprise Act 2016. The Small Business Commissioner will enable small businesses to resolve payment disputes with their larger customers and avoid future issues by encouraging a culture change in how businesses deal with each other. They will provide general advice and guidance to small businesses to prevent disputes occurring in the first place, direct them to existing support and help them resolve their complaints about payment issues.”
Time: Full-time.
Remuneration: £120,000-£130,000 per annum.
Closes: 13 March
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College of Policing – Chair
“Together with the College Board of Directors, the Chair will set the College’s strategic direction and aims against budgets and priorities. They will provide the College Chief Executive and their Executive team with the necessary leadership, challenge and support to enable the College to meet its goals. The Chair and Board hold the Executive to account to ensure that the College meets all of its statutory responsibilities and financial imperatives. The College is still in its early stages of development, so the Chair will play a leading role in shaping the organisations values and culture as it builds the profession of policing and wins the confidence of the public, its members, policing and Parliament.”
Time: 4-6 days per month.
Remuneration: £135,000 pro rata.
Closes: 13 March
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Independent Office for Police Conduct – Director General
“The role of the Director General is to ensure that the IOPC delivers on the following 3 functions: to independently investigate serious and sensitive cases where police misconduct is alleged or where someone has died or sustained serious injury; to act as an appellate body for members of the public whose complaints, if proven, could result in charges of misconduct or criminality,[and] to ensure public confidence in the police complaints system as a whole… This is a demanding and high profile role which demands strong leadership skills proven in a complex environment with multiple and diverse stakeholders. There is no prescribed background for the Director General and you do not need experience in the criminal justice system but candidates will need to demonstrate a broad understanding of the IOPC remit and policing.”
Time: Full time.
Remuneration: £140,000-160,000 per annum.
Closes: 20 March
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Highways England – Non-Executive Director
“Highways England is a public sector company, owned by the Government, responsible for delivering a modern network of strategic roads in England. Our primary role is to deliver a better service for road users and to support a growing economy. The Strategic Road Network is arguably the biggest and single most important piece of infrastructure in the country. It is at the core of our national transport system. It connects our major towns and cities, ensures commuters make it to work every day and helps millions of us visit our friends and families.”
Time: Two days per month minimum.
Remuneration: £25,000 per annum.
Closes: 20 March
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UK Research & Innovation – Board Members
“The UKRI Board will be expected to support the set-up of the organisation, providing clear strategic direction and oversight, promoting the importance of UK Research and Innovation and supporting the senior leadership team of the organisation to embed new ways of working across UKRI… As well as the above requirements which would be expected for all UKRI Board Members, there are specific roles on the Board that will require additional expertise, and a larger time commitment to UKRI.”
Time: 20 days per annum.
Remuneration: £9,180 per annum, plus £459 per diem for extra days.
Closes: 31 March
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Intellectual Property Office – Chair of the Steering Board
“The Intellectual Property Office Steering Board is responsible for advising the CEO and Minister on the overall direction and policies of the IPO. It ensures the IPO delivers on its strategic priorities and that resources are allocated effectively for their delivery. The Steering Board also regularly reviews the management and performance of the IPO and ensures high standards of corporate governance are maintained at all times. The role of Chair is an important one and demands effective strategic leadership of the Board and the ability to speak on its behalf. The Chair will work closely with the full-time Chief Executive, who is the IPO’s Accounting Officer.”
Time: 22 days per annum.
Remuneration: £450 per diem up to £10,000 per annum, plus “reasonable expenses”.
Closes: 31 March
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Independent Monitoring Board – National Chair
“We are looking for an outstanding individual to lead the IMB operation through a period of internal reform and change; and at a time when strengthened independent scrutiny is an important part of the Government’s prison safety and reform programme.
The recent White Paper on Prison Safety and Reform set out plans to ‘strengthen the governance arrangements and accountability for IMBs, to support them in providing high quality scrutiny’ and the successful candidate will work closely with the Deputy Director IMB Secretariat lead to put the new governance arrangements and processes in place.”
Time: Eight days per month.
Remuneration: £400 per diem plus expenses.
Closes: 03 April