3 The preferred candidate
The candidate's
background
13. Denise Fowler is a lawyer, having worked previously
as a housing adviser, a housing lawyer in private practice and
a member of the Senior Management Team of the Housing Ombudsman
between 2000 and 2002; she has worked as a lawyer since 2002 at
the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and
the Department for Work and Pensions. She is currently Deputy
Director, Head of Planning Law at DCLG.
The questioning
14. In line with the guidance drawn up by the Liaison
Committee on the conduct of pre-appointment hearings, our questioning
sought to test the professional competence and personal independence
of the candidate. The Liaison Committee also observes that a candidate
will need to be able to withstand parliamentary and public scrutiny
should they take up the post, and that questioning may therefore
be robust.[14]
15. During the course of our questioning, we explored
the following areas:
· the recruitment process;
· role of the Housing Ombudsman;
· the candidate's priorities;
· current and future activities of the Housing
Ombudsman, including the possibility of a unified ombudsman service
for England;
· awareness of issues facing tenants;
· independence from Government; and
· financial management.
16. A transcript of the oral evidence is published
on the Committee's website:
www.parliament.uk/clg.
The Committee's views on the suitability
of the candidate
17. The Committee held a pre-appointment hearing
with the Government's preferred candidate for Housing Ombudsman
on 16 December 2014. We endorse Denise Fowler's candidacy for
the post, subject to her resigning from the Civil Service. In
our view this step is necessary as the Housing Ombudsman has to
be, and has to be seen to be, independent of central government
and it is not acceptable for this post to be filled by a civil
servant, even one on secondment or taking a career break. Subject
to meeting this requirement, we conclude that Ms Fowler is a very
suitable candidate for the post of Housing Ombudsman.
14 Liaison Committee guidelines for select committees
holding pre-appointment hearings Back
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