Select Committee on Public Administration Minutes of Evidence


Annex 2

MAIN TASKS OF THE NHS APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION

  The NHS Appointments Commission will have the following duties:

    —  To recruit, select and appoint people to serve as chairs and non-executives of such bodies and NHS board as the Secretary of State shall determine. At present, these are NHS trusts, Primary Care Trusts, Health Authorities (but not including Special Health Authorities) and Section 11 Charity Trustees.

    —  To take the appropriate measures to terminate the appointment of chairs and non-executives when their performance fails to meet to requirements for the post.

    —  To follow such general criteria as may be set by the Secretary of State to ensure proper representation of women and people from the ethnic minorities.

    —  To ensure that the individuals it appoints have the general attributes and competencies set out by the Secretary of State for Health and the skills needed for each particular board.

    —  To ensure that all applicants and appointees are treated with proper courtesy at all times.

    —  To maintain public confidence in the appointment process and to ensure that the procedures which it uses for recruitment and appointment are open and transparent and take account of the procedures set out by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA).

    —  To produce an Annual Report for the Secretary of State on its activities and the appointments it has made.

    —  To maintain an up to date list of those serving as chairs and non-executives on the bodies for which it has appointment responsibility, incorporating such details as may be specified by the Secretary of State.

    —  To make such returns to OCPA as may be requested.

    —  To provide support for chairs and non-executives. This will involve:

      —  Establishing and maintaining channels of communication with Directors of Health and Social Care and Strategic Health Authority Chairs and the local NHS to ensure that the appointments made by the Commission meet the needs of the local NHS;

      —  Providing mentoring to chairs and non-executives on their board role and its operation and undertaking regular appraisal of chairs;

      —  Where the Director of Health and Social Care is concerned about the performance of a local board or chair, he or she may ask the Appointments Commission to conduct an ad-hoc appraisal, offer advice or support in other ways;

      —  Ensuring, with the assistance of the Modernisation Agency, that chairs and non-executives receive proper induction, training and development and programmes that reflect the skills and attributes needed by chairs and non-executives and in particular the need to develop non-executives for future chair appointments.


 
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Prepared 26 November 2002