Eight years ago, the TaxPayers’ Alliance reported that “in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories”.
It currently reports that almost half of avowedly political appointees last year owed their allegiance to Labour Party, compared to less than a third for the Conservatives.
Despite the selection of some Party members or supporters to fill important posts, over time, the Conservatives have punched beneath their 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, each week we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives can be aware of the opportunities presented.
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Department for Education – Schools Adjudicator
“Schools Adjudicators are office holders appointed by the Secretary of State for Education to make decisions about a range of matters relating to publicly funded schools in England. They are statutory office holders appointed under section 25 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The main function of the Schools Adjudicators is to rule on objections to and referrals about determined school admission arrangements of all state funded schools; this involves establishing whether or not arrangements conform with the requirements relating to admissions and if they do not conform, in what respect they do not conform… There are currently ten Schools Adjudicators, including the Chief Schools Adjudicator. They are appointed for their ability to act impartially, independently and objectively. Their role is to look afresh at all cases referred to them and consider each case on its merits in the light of the legislation, the Statutory Guidance for Decision Makers on Statutory Proposals and the School Admissions Code.”
Time: Part-time.
Remuneration: £355 per diem/£58 per hour.
Closes: 29 January
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Competition & Markets Authority – Chair
“The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK’s primary competition and consumer body. It promotes competition for the benefit of consumers, and the UK business environment, both within the UK and internationally, and its aim is to ensure that markets work well for consumers, businesses and the economy. The CMA is a non-Ministerial department which was established by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 on 1 April 2014. The CMA has staff in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff… The new Chair will lead an effective Board, setting the strategy for the organisation to meet new challenges including supporting the UK economy to grow post-coronavirus pandemic and taking more, and more complex, cases previously heard by the European Commission.”
Time: Around two days per week.
Remuneration: £106,666 per annum, plus expenses.
Closes: 31 January
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Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education – Chair
“The Institute was established as a Crown Non-Departmental Public Body, independent of Government and employer-led, with a mandate set by Ministers. The Institute is playing a vital role in continuing the apprenticeship and technical education reform process and works on behalf of employers to support the delivery of high quality apprenticeships, T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications in England. The Institute enables apprentices or learners to be confident that their apprenticeship or technical qualification is of high quality, respected and will help them to build a career with a clear market value. The chair will take up their role at a key point in the Institute’s development and will need to be able to give outstanding leadership as its board membership evolves, making the most of individual members’ strengths and skills.”
Time: One day per week.
Remuneration: £29,500 per annum, plus expenses.
Closes: 01 February
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Atomic Weapons Establishment – Non-Executive Director
“Having previously been operated on behalf of Government by a third party, from the 1st July 2021, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE plc) will become an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), with the company wholly owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The change in model will remove the current commercial arrangements, enhancing the MOD’s agility in the future management of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, whilst also delivering on core MOD objectives and value for money to the taxpayer. With these changes in mind, the MOD now wishes to identify four Non-Executive Directors to join the AWE plc Board from July 2021. The MOD seeks candidates with proven experience in one of: advanced manufacturing; large scale programme / complex infrastructure/ project management and assurance with capital intensive industries comparable to AWE plc; workforce strategy, culture change and incentivisation; and finance and risk, with prior experience on an Audit Committee.”
Time: Two days per month.
Remuneration: £29,995 per annum.
Closes: 03 February
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Intellectual Property Office – Non-Executive Director
“The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK Government body responsible for Intellectual Property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright. They operate and maintain a clear and accessible intellectual property system in the UK, which encourages innovation and helps the economy and society to benefit from knowledge and ideas. IPO helps people get the right type of protection for their creation or invention, and responsible for policy, educating businesses and consumers about IP rights and responsibilities, supporting IP enforcement, granting UK patents, trademarks and design rights. The IPO is at an exciting point in its history building a stronger role both domestically and internationally and has ambitious plans to deliver its strategy through delivering excellent Intellectual Property services, creating a leading Intellectual Property environment and making the IPO a brilliant place to work. It has embarked on a significant transformation programme to ensure it focuses delivering for its customers, both current and future ones, and plays it full role as a key part of the innovation ecosystem to enable the UK to become the most innovative and creative country in the world.”
Time: 18 days per annum.
Remuneration: £8,000 per annum.
Closes: 07 February
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Defence Business Services – Non-Executive Director
“The DBS Board provides strategic direction and holds the DBS executive to account on behalf of the MoD Chief Operating Officer for the efficient and effective delivery of its strategic objectives. It provides an important oversight and assurance role, ensuring that an effective framework for corporate governance is in place within DBS, as well as playing a critical role in supporting and endorsing the development of annual and corporate plans and significant business cases… The Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) will be accountable to the DBS Board Chair, who will conduct annual effectiveness reviews of NED performance. NEDs will be expected to provide support to the Board Chair by challenging and holding the DBS executive team to account in delivering against Corporate Plan and Business Objectives.”
Time: Up to 20 days per annum.
Remuneration: £10,000 per annum.
Closes: 10 February
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British Pharmacopoeia Commission – Chair
“The British Pharmacopoeia Commission was established in 1970 under Section 4 of the Medicines Act 1968 (superseded by the Human Medicines Regulations 2012). It is an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care. As such, it has no staff but is supported by a Secretariat from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It has strong links with the wider MHRA, the National Institute of Biological Standards and Control, the pharmaceutical industry and academia. The key role of the BPC is the preparation of the annual editions of the British Pharmacopoeia (BP), which is widely recognised as one of the leading global pharmacopoeias. The publicly available and legally enforceable pharmacopoeial standards are designed to complement and assist the licensing and inspection processes and are part of the system for safeguarding purchasers and users of medicinal products.”
Time: 11 days per annum approx.
Remuneration: £500 per meeting.
Closes: 23 February
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Civil Aviation Authority – Non-Executive Director
“The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is a public corporation and the UK’s specialist independent aviation regulator. The CAA has specific responsibilities for aviation safety, security, management of UK airspace, economic regulation of some airports and air traffic control, enforcement of consumer protection rules, and the management of the ATOL financial protection scheme for holidaymakers. The Secretary of State for Transport is seeking to appoint three Non Executive Directors to join the Board of the CAA. We are looking for outstanding individuals who can participate in setting the direction of a key transport regulator as the aviation sector recovers from the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and additional responsibilities as the UK leaves the European Aviation Safety Agency, and shaping the real-world experience of the multiple stakeholders the CAA serves.”
Time: 60 days per annum.
Remuneration: £25,000 per annum, plus £430 per diem for additional duties.
Closes: 25 February