Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2019 to Question 250476, whether the two candidates who declared that their principal employment was in the private sector but were not appointed were considered appointable by (a) advisory appointments panel and (b) the Minister.

Any appointment to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is made in line with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/578498/governance_code_on_public_appointments_16_12_2016.pdf

The most recent MAC appointments were made in 2017. The criteria for those appointments and the information to be submitted by candidates were set out in the advertisement on the HM Government Public Appointments website: https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/appointment/migration-advisory-committee-member-2/.

Under the Code, Ministers decide which applicants should be interviewed by an independent Advisory Assessment Panel. The Panel reports its assessment to Ministers, including its views on which candidates are appointable. Ministers consider the advice of the panel, but are not bound by its views. Ministers determine merit and make the final appointment decision.

In the 2017 MAC recruitment round, the two candidates not appointed who declared their principal employment was in the private sector, were not considered as appointable by the panel. Ministers considered the report of the panel before deciding which candidates to appoint.