Six 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 week 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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Ministry of Justice – Victims’ Commissioner
“The Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses (Victims’ Commissioner or the Commissioner) is a statutory role, established in legislation under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 and amended by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The Secretary of State for Justice (Justice Secretary) is responsible for appointing the Commissioner and in doing so must consult the Attorney General and Home Secretary. The role is independent of government… The Commissioner may, for any purpose connected with the performance of their duties as above, make proposals to the Justice Secretary for amending the Victims’ Code (at the request of the Justice Secretary or on their own initiative); make a report to the Secretary of State; make recommendations to an authority within their remit and consult any person they think appropriate.”
Time: Full-time.
Remuneration: £108,000 per annum.
Closes: 11 January
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UK Statistics Authority – Non-Executive Director
“The non-executive members of the Authority are responsible for: strategy: setting the overall strategic direction and vision of the Authority and its executive office, within the policy framework laid down in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007; governance: providing strong governance of the Authority’s executive office, ONS; working with executives: providing oversight, guidance and support to the National Statistician as the Chief Executive of the Authority, and the Director General for Regulation as the Authority’s principal adviser on the ongoing development and operation of the Authority’s assessment work; support and challenge: supporting and challenging the Government Statistical Service and ONS in delivering the Authority’s strategy; advocacy: acting as effective advocates and influential ambassadors for the UK Statistics Authority among key stakeholders;
Independence: ensuring that the Authority remains beyond reproach on the question of independence, and reports as necessary to Parliament and the devolved legislatures…”
Time: Two days per month minimum.
Remuneration: £15,000 per annum.
Closes: 18 January
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Prison Service Pay Review Body – Chair
“As Chair of the Prison Service Pay Review Body you will have responsibility for working corporately with members to advise the Government annually on the pay of Governors, Operational Managers, Prison Officers and support grades in England and Wales and equivalent posts in Northern Ireland. The appointed individual should be available for Review Body duties from the end of May 2019. Candidates for the PSPRB post who are the Chair or members of other Review Bodies may apply, but would need to resign their current position if they were appointed. This role represents an influential, worthwhile and intellectually stimulating challenge. We are looking for a new Chair with senior management level experience, and a strategic/senior level understanding of unionised environments and employee relations. To help you decide if you have the qualities and skills required for this post, we have listed below the criteria that we will apply when assessing candidates.”
Time: ~35 days per annum.
Remuneration: £350 per diem
Closes: 21 January
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Department for International Development – Independent Commissioner for Aid Impact
“A Board of Commissioners is being recruited to ICAI for a single four-year term from 2019. As a Commissioner you will use your professional expertise, experience and senior leadership skills to set the direction for ICAI’s work, ensuring it delivers high quality, impartial scrutiny of the impact and value for money of UK aid. You will work as part of teams to generate credible assessments of UK aid spending. You will work independently to hold Government to account, reporting directly to Parliament. A full information pack, along with supporting documentation, can be found at the foot of the advert. To be successful in this role you will need to demonstrate successful leadership within your specialism with extensive experience in international development and in at least one of evaluation, audit or finance contexts as well as an understanding of public policy.”
Time: 70 days per annum.
Remuneration: £381 per diem, plus expenses.
Closes: 23 January
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Civil Nuclear Police Authority – Independent Members
“The Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA) is a body corporate established by the Energy Act 2004 and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The CNPA has a statutory responsibility for maintaining an efficient and effective Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC). The CNC provides an armed response capability for the UK’s civil nuclear industry, operating from units based at licensed nuclear sites throughout the UK and providing armed escorts – road and marine – for movements of nuclear materials within the UK and overseas. The CNPA sets the strategic direction for the CNC and ensures that it’s policing meets the needs of the nuclear operating companies. This could mean denying unauthorised access to nuclear material or recovering control of nuclear material lost to unauthorised persons.”
Time: 35 days per annum.
Remuneration: £17,500 per annum.
Closes: 27 January
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The Housing Ombudsman Service – Housing Ombudsman
“The Housing Ombudsman delivers an essential service in providing redress for social housing residents, both tenants and leaseholders, and for private tenants where their landlords have chosen to join the scheme. The Housing Ombudsman has a critical role to play in delivering an independent, fair and impartial service, improving complaint handling throughout the process, and in supporting and advising tenants, landlords, and designated persons to achieve quicker and more effective dispute resolution locally. This is a significant period for housing with the publication of the Social Housing Green Paper, Dame Judith Hackitt’s Review on Building Regulations and the Public Inquiry into the Grenfell Fire. Delivering effective redress has been identified as a key issue by social housing residents and is one of the main challenges the Government is taking forward through the Social Housing Green Paper. The Housing Ombudsman plays a key role in ensuring that tenants and leaseholders are able to have quick, appropriate and effective redress.”
Time: Full time
Remuneration: £120,000 per annum.
Closes: 04 February