Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Assessment Advisory Panels for public appointments (1) the Director General, Propriety and Constitution Group, and (2) the Director General, Propriety and Ethics, have served on since 2019; what assessment they have made of the appropriateness for individuals in those roles to sit on Assessment Advisory Panels given their responsibilities for sponsoring the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments and advising on ethical issues in the appointments process; and whether they have made an assessment of the risk of conflict of interest where individuals in those roles may later be required to investigate or advise on complaints relating to campaigns on which they have served.

The Director General of the Cabinet Office's Propriety and Constitution Group (previously Director General of Propriety and Ethics), since taking up the role in March 2021, has served as a member of an Advisory Assessment Panel on seven (7) public appointment recruitment campaigns.

The Governance Code on Public Appointments has a rigorous and well established process for assessing and managing potential conflicts of interest in all regulated public appointments processes, which has been in effect across a number of administrations. The process covers potential personal and professional conflicts of interest for both independent panel members and the departmental or sponsor body representatives. As per the Governance Code on Public Appointments, ministers must agree the composition of all Advisory Assessment Panels.