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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Ofcom – Chair
“The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is looking for an outstanding individual to appoint as the new Chair for Ofcom… Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, telecommunications, wireless communications, online, radio and postal services. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament and is independent of both Government and those it regulates. Ofcom operates at the cutting-edge of the digital communications industries in the UK and in a fast changing environment. Ofcom’s principal duty is to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate, by promoting competition.”
Time: 3 days per week
Remuneration: £142,500 per annum
Closes: 13 December
– – – – – – – – – –
Research England – Executive Chair
“The Executive Chair, working with the Research England Council Members, is responsible for setting the strategic vision for RE and contributing to the wider direction of UKRI. As a visible and credible leader of Research England you will provide direction, ensuring delivery research, skills, and infrastructure investments. As a member of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Executive Committee, the Executive Chair will be accountable to, and work closely with, the UKRI Chief Executive Officer. The Research England’s Executive Chair may also be responsible for leading and delivering one or more cross cutting areas for UKRI.”
Time: Full time
Remuneration: £120,000-144,500 per annum, plus bonus
Closes: 16 December
– – – – – – – – – –
UK Infrastructure Bank – Non-Executive Directors
“The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) is the new, government-owned policy bank, focused on increasing infrastructure investment across the United Kingdom. A vitally important institution, UKIB will partner with the private sector and local government to finance infrastructure development to help the UK government to create a net zero economy and drive local and regional economic growth. The bank is headquartered in Leeds, and will operate UK-wide, supporting projects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. UKIB are looking for four Non-Executive Directors to join the new board, two of which to be Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and Chair of the Remuneration Committee.”
Time: Approx. 20 days per annum
Remuneration: £29,000 per annum
Closes: 16 December
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Home Office – Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
“The PPO’s remit is determined by Terms of Reference set by the Secretary of State for Justice. The role is impartial of the services in remit, which include those provided by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, the immigration estate and the National Probation Service for England and Wales… In carrying out the duties of the office, the PPO has responsibility for around 100 members of staff and in 2021/2022 a budget of circa £5.8 million. On occasion, Ministers will invite the PPO to undertake investigations which fall outside of the usual remit. The PPO is also a key member of the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody, which brings together Ministers, senior officials, experts and practitioners to enable better learning and sharing of lessons across the custodial sectors.”
Time: Full-time
Remuneration: £100,000 per annum plus pension
Closes: 10 January
– – – – – – – – – –
Ofqual – Board Member
“Most of us will have memories of taking exams as part of our school career. Qualifications – taken in schools, colleges, training centres or the workplace – play a key role, not just in our education system but in our economy too. They open doors to new opportunities. For employers, they help to inform recruitment and to develop their people. Ofqual’s job, as the independent regulator for qualifications and assessment in England, is to regulate the over 170 organisations that provide those qualifications. The Ofqual Board is the legal authority responsible for the regulation of qualifications in England. It provides leadership and direction to Ofqual, setting strategic aims, values and standards. We are recruiting up to six high calibre individuals to join the Ofqual Board. Most importantly, we’re looking for experienced, strategic, pragmatic and collaborative individuals who are comfortable working in a rapidly changing policy environment.”
Time: Up to 20 days per annum
Remuneration: £6,000 per annum
Closes: 10 January
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.
– – – – – – – – – –
Ofcom – Non-Executive Board Member
“Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications, wireless communications, radio and postal services. Ofcom has also taken on new duties in 2021 in regulating content on Video Sharing Platforms and has a new role in making sure telecoms networks have adequate cyber security. Ofcom is also preparing for new online duties to help make the internet a safer place. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament but is independent of both Government and those it regulates.”
Time: Up to 2 days per week
Remuneration: £42,519 per annum.
Closes: 08 December
– – – – – – – – – –
Ofcom – Chair
“The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is looking for an outstanding individual to appoint as the new Chair for Ofcom… Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, telecommunications, wireless communications, online, radio and postal services. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament and is independent of both Government and those it regulates. Ofcom operates at the cutting-edge of the digital communications industries in the UK and in a fast changing environment. Ofcom’s principal duty is to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate, by promoting competition.”
Time: 3 days per week
Remuneration: £142,500 per annum
Closes: 13 December
– – – – – – – – – –
Research England – Executive Chair
“The Executive Chair, working with the Research England Council Members, is responsible for setting the strategic vision for RE and contributing to the wider direction of UKRI. As a visible and credible leader of Research England you will provide direction, ensuring delivery research, skills, and infrastructure investments. As a member of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Executive Committee, the Executive Chair will be accountable to, and work closely with, the UKRI Chief Executive Officer. The Research England’s Executive Chair may also be responsible for leading and delivering one or more cross cutting areas for UKRI.”
Time: Full time
Remuneration: £120,000-144,500 per annum, plus bonus
Closes: 16 December
– – – – – – – – – –
UK Infrastructure Bank – Non-Executive Directors
“The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) is the new, government-owned policy bank, focused on increasing infrastructure investment across the United Kingdom. A vitally important institution, UKIB will partner with the private sector and local government to finance infrastructure development to help the UK government to create a net zero economy and drive local and regional economic growth. The bank is headquartered in Leeds, and will operate UK-wide, supporting projects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. UKIB are looking for four Non-Executive Directors to join the new board, two of which to be Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and Chair of the Remuneration Committee.”
Time: Approx. 20 days per annum
Remuneration: £29,000 per annum
Closes: 16 December
– – – – – – – – – –
Home Office – Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
“The PPO’s remit is determined by Terms of Reference set by the Secretary of State for Justice. The role is impartial of the services in remit, which include those provided by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, the immigration estate and the National Probation Service for England and Wales… In carrying out the duties of the office, the PPO has responsibility for around 100 members of staff and in 2021/2022 a budget of circa £5.8 million. On occasion, Ministers will invite the PPO to undertake investigations which fall outside of the usual remit. The PPO is also a key member of the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody, which brings together Ministers, senior officials, experts and practitioners to enable better learning and sharing of lessons across the custodial sectors.”
Time: Full-time
Remuneration: £100,000 per annum plus pension
Closes: 10 January
– – – – – – – – – –
Ofqual – Board Member
“Most of us will have memories of taking exams as part of our school career. Qualifications – taken in schools, colleges, training centres or the workplace – play a key role, not just in our education system but in our economy too. They open doors to new opportunities. For employers, they help to inform recruitment and to develop their people. Ofqual’s job, as the independent regulator for qualifications and assessment in England, is to regulate the over 170 organisations that provide those qualifications. The Ofqual Board is the legal authority responsible for the regulation of qualifications in England. It provides leadership and direction to Ofqual, setting strategic aims, values and standards. We are recruiting up to six high calibre individuals to join the Ofqual Board. Most importantly, we’re looking for experienced, strategic, pragmatic and collaborative individuals who are comfortable working in a rapidly changing policy environment.”
Time: Up to 20 days per annum
Remuneration: £6,000 per annum
Closes: 10 January
– – – – – – – – – –
Home Office – Independent Examiner of Complaints
“The Home Office committed to setting up an Independent Complaints Examiner function in our response to the Windrush Lessons Learned Review to ensure we are more open to scrutiny, and to learn from customer and stakeholder feedback. We continually strive to identify ways to improve the services we deliver but we recognise that we don’t always get it right. The Independent Complaints Examiner (ICE) will provide an independent route for customers who are not happy with the Department’s initial response to their complaint with the hope that, through impartial investigation and balanced reasoning, this will result in satisfactory resolution. The ICE will also act as a figurehead for continual service learning and improvement across the department: identifying learning from complaints and acting as a critical friend at a senior level to ensure our services improve as a result.”
Time: Three-year term
Remuneration: £95,000 per annum, pro rata
Closes: 10 January
– – – – – – – – – –
Regulatory Horizons Council – Chair
“A wave of technological innovation is creating new industries, disrupting existing ones and transforming the way things are made and the way we live. From AI-powered legal services to autonomous ships, new products, services and business models are emerging which don’t fit with existing regulatory systems. Following the White Paper on Regulation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Government set up the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) to identify the implications of technological innovation with high potential benefit for the UK economy and society and advise the government on regulatory reform needed to support its rapid and safe introduction.”
Time: Up to 48 days per annum
Remuneration: £480 per diem
Closes: 13 January