Commissioner for Public Appointments

The commissioner for public appointments is a British public servant, appointed by the King,^[1] whose primary role is to provide independent assurance that ministerial public appointments across the United Kingdom by HM Government Ministers (and devolved appointments by Welsh Government Ministers) are made in accordance with the Principles of Public Appointments and the Cabinet Office's Governance Code on Public Appointments.^[2] The commissioner issues an annual report and a statistical bulletin each year.^[3]

There are similar bodies for two other jurisdictions of the United Kingdom – the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland and the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

As of July 2022^[update], the current commissioner for public appointments is William Shawcross.^[4]

List of commissioners for public appointments in England and Wales

November 1995–March 1999: Sir Len Peach^[5]
March 1999–December 2005: Dame Rennie Fritchie DBE (now The Baroness Fritchie)^[6]
January 2006–December 2010: Dame Janet Gaymer DBE^[7]
January 2011–March 2016: Sir David Normington GCB^[8]
April 2016–September 2021: Rt Hon Peter Riddell CBE^[4]
September 2021–present^[update]: Sir William Shawcross CVO^[9]

References

^ "Public Appointments Commissioner Order in Council 2016" (PDF).
^ "Governance Code for Public Appointments - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
^ "Annual reports - Commissioner for Public Appointments". Commissioner for Public Appointments. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Commissioner for Public Appointments appointed: Peter Riddell - Press releases - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
^ "History of the Commissioner's role - The Commissioner for Public Appointments". publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
^ 10 Downing Street (6 February 2002). "Number10.gov.uk : Dame Rennie Fritchie re-appointed as Commissioner for Public Appointments". number10.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Employment lawyer named as new Commissioner for Public Appointments - Personnel Today". Personnel Today. 22 December 2005. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
^ "Dual Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments". UK Cabinet Office. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
^ "About the Commissioner". Commissioner for Public Appointments. Retrieved 22 July 2022.