House of Commons - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minutes of Evidence

Further supplementary memorandum submitted by Defra (RPA Sub 16c)

You wrote requesting the names and CVs of all those who applied for the position of Chief Executive of the RPA when the position was advertised in autumn 2000, to inform your inquiry into the delays to the administering of the 2006 SPS.

The Permanent Secretary cannot see circumstances in which she would release the personal details of unsuccessful applicants for posts. This would breach the confidentiality in which they submitted the details. In any event she does not understand what the committee is seeking to do here. She hopes that you are not trying to second guess the decision taken in an appointment made through a process six years ago? But she is happy to tell you about the process.

The post was subject to an open competition. Following short-listing candidates were interviewed by a panel chaired by Brian Bender. The other panel members were Kate Timms, at that time MAFF Head of Agricultural Crops and Commodities Directorate and Keith Todd ex Chief Executive of ICL.

The Selection was carried out against the key criteria set out in the advertisement and detailed in the accompanying information pack for candidates as follows:

A leader with a successful track record of delivering radical organisational change in a substantial private or public sector delivery organisation:

— Familiarity with ICT systems;

— Keen to grasp the opportunities of e-business;

— Experience at board level with accountability for significant resources, in an organisation operating in a policy-led framework;

— Track record of management in a dispersed or multi-site organisation;

— Experience in a customer-facing organisation;

— Excellent people management skills;

— Commitment to and highly developed communication, motivation and leadership skills;

— A commitment to continuous improvement and working with quality systems;

— Political awareness and sensitivity;

— An understanding of the processes of central government and the EU desirable;

— The ability to think strategically;