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Appointments to Non-Departmental Public Bodies in Scotland
Public Appointments - Pen pictures of Some Current Members
ACCOUNTS COMMISSION FOR SCOTLAND
ISABELLE LOW - MEMBER
My background is as a senior civil servant in The Scottish Office, and then the Scottish Executive. After I changed my life to spend more time with my garden, I was keen to put in some days a month on boards of public bodies because I care about the quality of public services and making them as good as they can be.
During 2001, I applied for and became a member of the Accounts Commission for Scotland, which holds local councils to account both for their stewardship of resources and for their performance.
It takes time to learn how to be a non-executive board member. I see myself as still having my L-plates. It's a very different role from being an executive.
Given the technical content of Commission work, its non-executives do need relevant specialist skills and knowledge to understand the business and be effective. But the key thing to bear in mind, I think, is that the non-executives are there not to duplicate what the executives do but to represent the overall public interest. So I keep asking myself two questions:
- What really matters here, from the public interest perspective?
- How can I best add value?
What do non-executives actually do? They contribute to board meetings, obviously. But let's look at some simple arithmetic. If a Commission meeting normally lasts 2 hours, and there are 12 people attending, then each individual is only going to have 10 minutes talking time. So it is vital to prepare beforehand, so that what you do say adds value.
Before the meeting, therefore, I read carefully through the papers twice, marking up all the points that strike me. Then I boil this down to the few issues that seem to me to matter most. And if I am minded to challenge what the executives propose, then I try to find constructive alternative suggestions. I remember how I hated people being negative when I was an executive myself.
At the meeting, I aim to make an appropriate contribution, but not to hog the discussion. Listening to the contributions of others usually triggers ideas that I did not consider previously. The developing synthesis of the Commission's views is always much more valuable than each individual perspective.
Perhaps I have been lucky, but I find my colleagues - non-executive and executive - friendly, knowledgeable and stimulating; the business of meetings well run; and thus the non-executive role both productive and personally satisfying.
SCOTTISH FURTHER EDUCATION FUNDING COUNCIL
LORNE MACLEOD - MEMBER
I live in Oban, and was born in the Argyll town in 1963. I have been self employed since the beginning of 2001 and am involved in a variety of business activities, including a retail and distribution business based in the Isle of Skye and as a Chartered Accountant undertaking business and community development consultancy work. I am also a director of the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust, the body which successfully bid for the purchase of the Isle of Gigha, and took over ownership of the island in March 2002.
Prior to becoming self-employed, I was the Director of the Strengthening Communities division of Highlands & Islands Enterprise and, prior to this, was Chief Executive of Skye & Lochalsh Enterprise.
I was appointed to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) in April 2001. My involvement takes about two or three days per month. As well as attending main meetings, I am also involved in some committees of the SFEFC which gives me an additional opportunity to contribute to the work of the organisation.
Most meetings of the SFEFC are held in Edinburgh and, because I live some distance away, the SFEFC has been supportive in organising video conferencing links to some of the committee meetings I find difficulty in attending. With such advances in telecommunications, nobody based in a remote rural or island location should feel prevented from applying for public appointments.
Induction training was provided on joining the SFEFC, and I have found all staff and fellow SFEFC members to be supportive and encouraging to new members. Although I do not have a detailed understanding of the day to day workings within a further education college, I can make a contribution to SFEFC policy making through the experience which I can bring to discussions. My knowledge of grant making and the enterprise company network, my involvement with businesses and the private sector, and my understanding of the Highlands & Islands allow me to contribute positively to the work of SFEFC.
Becoming involved in a non-departmental public body allows you the opportunity to offer something back to society, to contribute to policy making, and to help with the operation of a key organisation within Scotland. In return, a great deal of personal satisfaction is obtained.
MOBILITY AND ACCESS COMMITTEE FOR SCOTLAND
MARGARET HICKISH - CHAIR
My first employment after leaving school was as the first female technician apprentice in Rosyth Royal Dockyard. I was one woman among 24 young men. I studied electrical and electronic engineering at the Dockyard technical college and then at Kirkcaldy. This provided me with a good grounding in getting minority views heard and I became involved in Trade Union activity.
I developed osteoarthritis and throughout the 1980s I slowly lost mobility. I had been passionate about equality for women in engineering and becoming disabled meant that I was often doubly disadvantaged. I became a wheelchair user in 1997.
Throughout my progressive disablement, I was often astounded by attitudes to improving access for disabled people. The need to make new buildings accessible has been recognised for some time. However, the frustration of travelling as a disabled person is difficult to describe. Information, booking, transfers and assistance were often traumatic and making a journey requiring two different transport modes required military precision. In my professional life, I am now an Access Consultant advising on creating access to the built environment.
I was encouraged to apply to become a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland (RFACS) by a member of RFACS and I had found that experience fulfilling so, when colleagues and friends encouraged me to apply for the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) position as they believed that my attitudes and passions would bring something to the new committee, I was happy to do so. I had been a Trade Union National President and had experience of chairing and talking to audiences of all sizes. I was also used to committee work where there was a need to deal with large amounts of correspondence and respond to consultations in a timely manner.
The Committee's remit is to advise Scottish Ministers on access to transport and related infrastructure in Scotland which has meant getting to grips with devolved transport issues. There are nine other committee members from around Scotland, all of whom bring a range of experience and skills which we are matching to our 2003 work plan. More than half of the members have a disability but no member represents a 'constituency'.
We have a sister organisation in England and thus we are basing some of our work on research already completed but MACS will be concentrating on transport issues of particular relevance to Scotland.
I have found being Convenor of MACS in this first year stimulating, exciting and fun. I have met an interesting range of people whose enthusiasm is often infectious. I am determined that our contributions will make a difference and that was why I applied in the first instance. I have found immense satisfaction in doing the work.
If you see a public appointment advertised that interests you, apply - you have everything to gain from participation.
SCOTTISH INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD
VIKRAM LALL - CHAIR
I was born and brought up in India, and came to Britain in 1966 after studying Economics at Delhi University. I moved to Scotland in 1972 to start a career in corporate finance, having qualified as a chartered accountant in London. Scotland is now my home. Some years ago, I decided that, having had a successful career here, I should "put something back" into my adopted country. I became aware that there are a number of Scottish non-departmental public bodies who seek people with a wide range of experience and backgrounds to serve as non-executive directors, advisers or members.
My first appointment was as a member of the Renewing Local Democracy Group, which was formed to advise on improving the involvement of the general population in local politics. I had no experience of or involvement in local politics, but my background in the private financial sector enabled me to contribute to the deliberations of the group on private sector attitudes to local government and on appropriate remuneration structures for local councillors.
In January 2000 I was appointed as a member of the Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board (SIDAB). I became Chairman of SIDAB in April 2002. SIDAB advises officials of the Scottish Executive on applications for Regional Selective Assistance (RSA). RSA is a national scheme of financial assistance to industry designed to encourage investment in areas of higher than average unemployment. Members of SIDAB are drawn from a wide range of sectors - the current board members include an economist, a banker, a trade economist and a pharmaceutical physician. Against the current background of decline in the electronics and telecommunications sectors, considerable effort is being made to replace the flow of investment from those sectors with investment and job creation by other growth companies in Scotland and elsewhere.
My involvement in SIDAB and the Renewing Local Democracy Group has given me the opportunity to contribute to the continued development and growth of Scotland. In addition, I have gained valuable knowledge of how the public sector works, and met a number of very experienced and talented people. I would encourage others who have made Scotland their home to take a little time out from their "day jobs" to participate in the numerous public bodies that seek representation from people of all backgrounds - the experience is very worthwhile.
NHS EDUCATION FOR SCOTLAND
TESFU GESSESSE - MEMBER
The Executive's Public Appointments Unit asked me to share my experience of being a board member of the NHS Education for Scotland board. In doing so, the approach I have adopted is one of someone who has made his home in Scotland and who is committed to the well being of all residents in Scotland and to the work of the Scottish Executive.
Some time last year, I saw an advert in the Scotsman newspaper stating that the Scottish Executive was looking to appoint non-executive board members of NHS Education for Scotland. I applied and after some time I was invited for an interview. Following interview, I got a call from the NHS Public Appointments Unit informing me that the Minister wanted to offer me the post, which I accepted immediately.
Since April 2002 I have been a board member of NHS Education for Scotland. The aim of the body is to contribute to the highest quality of health care in NHS Scotland by promoting best practice in the education and lifelong learning of its entire staff. I am a great admirer of the work of the NHS and am committed to do my utmost to support its work.
I must admit that, when you are the only minority ethnic person among 8 or 9 white colleagues, it can be daunting. However, once the meeting starts and other colleague's points of view are voiced, you feel relieved to hear there are many other people who see the world the same way as you see it. I feel that as someone who has been living in Scotland for the past 13 years, I have a duty to do my part in ensuring that we have a first class health service in Scotland. To achieve this I remember at every board meeting that not only the needs of the consultants have to be considered but also those of the cleaners, janitors, kitchen staff and nurses, as without them, in my opinion, the NHS would not exist.
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