This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Appointment to Mental Health Commission for Scotland
28/04/2005
Scotland has been made by Her Majesty The Queen on the
recommendation of the Rt Hon Jack McConnell MSP, First
Minister of Scotland.
Mr George Kappler (52) has been appointed full time
Commissioner (with special interest in social work). Prior
to this appointment, Mr Kappler was employed by the Mental
Welfare Commission for Scotland as a Social Work Officer.
He has gained extensive experience within government,
voluntary and local authority sectors, both rural and
urban, throughout his career. He qualified in social work
in 1979 and has been working in Scotland since 1981.
This appointment will be for four years and will run
from April 2005 to April 2009.
This post is full-time and attracts a remuneration of
£52,276.
The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland protects
mentally disordered people who are not able to look after
their own interests. It enquires into cases of alleged ill
treatment or deficiency of care or treatment and visits
persons with mental disorder in hospitals and community
settings, some of whom will be subject to the Mental Health
(Scotland) Act 1984 or the Adults with Incapacity
(Scotland) Act 2000.
This Ministerial public appointment was made in
accordance with the Scottish Commissioner for Public
Appointments' Code of Practice.
All appointments are made on merit and political
activity plays no part in the selection process. However,
in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations,
there is a requirement for appointees' political activity
(if there is any to be declared) to be made public.
In the last five years, Mr Kappler has not been involved
in any political activity. He does not hold any other
Ministerial appointments.
Mr Kappler will replace Professor Juliet Cheetham MBE,
who stepped down in February 2005. In his time as Social
Work officer with the Mental Welfare Commission for
Scotland, Mr Kappler has chaired two major enquiries. He
was also closely involved in another high profile enquiry
whilst on secondment to the Social Work Services
Inspectorate (SWSI) of the Scottish Executive. Whilst on
secondment to SWSI, he was responsible for developing
service standards for Mental Health Officer services and
also for developing training materials resulting from the
Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and
the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. Mr Kappler
qualified as a social worker in 1979 from the University of
Pennsylvania and gained mental health officer accreditation
in Scotland during 1985.