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Appointments to Non-Departmental Public Bodies in Scotland
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The following notes provide background information on aspects of the public appointments process not otherwise covered in the following tables.
All bodies that fall within the Commissioner for Public Appointments' remit are allocated to an upper or lower tier according to the level of remuneration paid to their members and /or the level of government funding they receive. Departments do, however, have discretion to raise a body that meets the lower tier criteria into the upper tier, if warranted by its public profile.
Upper tier
A body falls into this category if it meets at least one of the following criteria:
- members (excluding chair) individually receive 5000 or more per annum in fees and/or honoraria (excluding travel and subsistence and other expenses such as child care and loss of earnings); or
- it receives 10 million or more of government funding through its sponsoring department.
Lower tier
- members (excluding chair*) individually receive less than 5000 or more per annum in fees and/or honoraria (excluding travel and subsistence and other expenses such as child care and loss of earnings); and
- it receives less than 10 million or more of government funding through its sponsoring department.
* If the chair receives 20K or more that appointment alone is subject to upper tier procedures.
- TERMS AND CRITERIA FOR REAPPOINTMENTS
The requirements for reappointment vary between upper and lower tier appointments and are as follows:
Reappointments to upper tier bodies
Appointments to upper tier bodies are normally restricted to two terms. The length of these terms is determined by any statutory constraints or is a matter for decision by Ministers. In
total, though, they cannot exceed 10 years in the same post.
1 st reappointments
- First reappointments (i.e. a second term of office in the same role) may be made subject to a satisfactory performance assessment.
2 nd reappointments
- Second reappointments (i.e. a third term of office in the same role) are rare, and can only be made if the individual has been considered alongside other applicants in open competition and has proved to be the most suitable candidate.
Reappointments to lower tier bodies
Appointees may serve any number of terms subject to a maximum consecutive period of 10 years, providing their performance has been continuously assessed as satisfactory.
On the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life (now the Wicks Committee) all applicants for a public appointment must answer a standard question on political activity (designed by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after consultation with the Government and the Committee). The question asks only for information that is already in the public domain. It does not ask for personal or private information such as membership of political parties or voting preferences. Neither activity nor affiliation is a criterion for appointment (except where statute dictates specific representation). This information enables the Commissioner to monitor the political activity of candidates for public appointment. This annual report contains for the first time information on political activity taken from the declarations completed by candidates.
- CLARIFICATION ABOUT PARTICULAR APPOINTMENTS
Central Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace (Scotland)
All appointments were extended to October 2003 to allow the Committee the opportunity to respond to the McInnes Review of Summary Justice.
National Libraries of Scotland
The Body is established as an executive non-departmental public body under the National Library of Scotland Act 1925 (the 1925 act) as amended by the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985 (the 1985 Act). The constitution of the Body is governed by the 1985 Act. It must comply with Part IV of Chapter 16 to the 1985 Act which states how many members of the Board of Trustees shall be appointed and by whom and for how long. The powers and duties of the Board are set out in Part IV of the 1985 Act and Section 2 of the 1925 Act.
Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees
Historically, the term of Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee (JPAC) appointments has been 6 years. However, revised appointment procedures for the 32 local JPACs are currently under consideration. The new proposals will provide that in future JPAC members will be appointed initially for a period of 3 years.
NHS Trusts
NHS Trusts are not public bodies but subsidiary bodies to the Health Boards. All appointments to NHS Trusts are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and have therefore been included in this Report.
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