Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his role is in public appointments.

Individual public appointments are made by the relevant Minister in the sponsor department of the public body. It is the responsibility of appointing departments to conduct recruitment processes in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.

I have responsibility for overall policy on Government public appointments and am working to improve their diversity, including by providing appropriate guidance to departments.

Over the last 8 years, the number of women appointed to the boards of public bodies remained static around 36%. Statistics for 2013/14 show that 39% of new appointments were made to women, with recent figures even stronger. There remains more to do to improve the diversity of our public appointments and the Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office plays a coordinating and supportive role in this.

I make appointments to the boards of a number of Cabinet Office bodies.