Eight years ago, the TaxPayers’ Alliance reported that “in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories”.
It currently reports that almost half of avowedly political appointees last year owed their allegiance to Labour Party, compared to less than a third for the Conservatives.
Despite the selection of some Party members or supporters to fill important posts, over time, the Conservatives have punched beneath their weight when it comes to public appointments. One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply don’t apply in the same number as Labour supporters.
To help remedy this, each week we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives can be aware of the opportunities presented.
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Atomic Weapons Establishment – Non-Executive Director
“Having previously been operated on behalf of Government by a third party, from the 1st July 2021, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE plc) will become an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), with the company wholly owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The change in model will remove the current commercial arrangements, enhancing the MOD’s agility in the future management of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, whilst also delivering on core MOD objectives and value for money to the taxpayer. With these changes in mind, the MOD now wishes to identify four Non-Executive Directors to join the AWE plc Board from July 2021. The MOD seeks candidates with proven experience in one of: advanced manufacturing; large scale programme / complex infrastructure/ project management and assurance with capital intensive industries comparable to AWE plc; workforce strategy, culture change and incentivisation; and finance and risk, with prior experience on an Audit Committee.”
Time: Two days per month.
Remuneration: GBP29,995 per annum.
Closes: 03 February
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Intellectual Property Office – Non-Executive Director
“The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK Government body responsible for Intellectual Property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright. They operate and maintain a clear and accessible intellectual property system in the UK, which encourages innovation and helps the economy and society to benefit from knowledge and ideas. IPO helps people get the right type of protection for their creation or invention, and responsible for policy, educating businesses and consumers about IP rights and responsibilities, supporting IP enforcement, granting UK patents, trademarks and design rights. The IPO is at an exciting point in its history building a stronger role both domestically and internationally and has ambitious plans to deliver its strategy through delivering excellent Intellectual Property services, creating a leading Intellectual Property environment and making the IPO a brilliant place to work. It has embarked on a significant transformation programme to ensure it focuses delivering for its customers, both current and future ones, and plays it full role as a key part of the innovation ecosystem to enable the UK to become the most innovative and creative country in the world.”
Time: 18 days per annum.
Remuneration: GBP8,000 per annum.
Closes: 07 February
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Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO) – Chair
“Defence Nuclear Organisation is seeking to appoint an Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee (ARAC) Chair. Established in April 2016 as part of recommendations set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the DNO was set up to oversee all aspects of nuclear business within the MOD and across the wider Enterprise. The Director General Nuclear is responsible for all submarines (from buying them through to disposal when they reach the end of their life), nuclear warheads, skills, related infrastructure and day-to-day nuclear policy. Our mission is to keep safe and capable submarines at sea today and in the future. We need a capable and credible nuclear deterrent to successfully deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life. DNO consists of the people, equipment and infrastructure required to make that happen. Once stood up the ARAC will be vital in ensuring a suitable level of independent assurance and challenge expected for an enterprise of this importance, scale and cost.”
Time: 25 days per annum.
Remuneration: GBP1,000 per diem.
Closes: 07 February
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The Royal Parks – Trustees
“The Royal Parks is the charity that cares for over 5000 acres of outstanding parkland in London, including unique historic landscapes, rare habitats, listed buildings and national memorials. It undertakes commercial activity to support this work, including concessions, licences and a high-profile series of events. In addition, it has a fundraising function. The charity also supports a volunteering network and an education programme. The Royal Parks’ estate includes eight listed Royal Parks: Bushy Park, The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent’s Park & Primrose Hill, Richmond Park and St James’s Park. The charity also cares for other public spaces in London including Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens. The parks receive over 77 million visitors a year and play an important role in the life of the capital, its residents and its visitors. They also host national ceremonial events and other cultural activities and are an important provider of sporting facilities.”
Time: Ten days per annum approx.
Remuneration: Expenses.
Closes: 08 February
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Defence Business Services – Non-Executive Director
“The DBS Board provides strategic direction and holds the DBS executive to account on behalf of the MoD Chief Operating Officer for the efficient and effective delivery of its strategic objectives. It provides an important oversight and assurance role, ensuring that an effective framework for corporate governance is in place within DBS, as well as playing a critical role in supporting and endorsing the development of annual and corporate plans and significant business cases… The Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) will be accountable to the DBS Board Chair, who will conduct annual effectiveness reviews of NED performance. NEDs will be expected to provide support to the Board Chair by challenging and holding the DBS executive team to account in delivering against Corporate Plan and Business Objectives.”
Time: Up to 20 days per annum.
Remuneration: GBP10,000 per annum.
Closes: 10 February
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The Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) – Chair
“The Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It was established under the Local Government Act 2003 to provide administrative support, procedural advice and central direction to the Valuation Tribunal for England. It has a strong corporate identity and clearly delegated powers and responsibilities. The VTS employs around 70 staff and is able to encourage the spread of best practice across the organisation, leading to better public service delivery. To support the Valuation Tribunal for England (VTE) in the administration of a fair, efficient and accessible system to deal with appeals against council tax and business rates valuation. This will be done by providing guidance and supporting the recruitment, induction and integration of new members.”
Time: 24 days per annum.
Remuneration: GBP8,839 per annum.
Closes: 11 February
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British Pharmacopoeia Commission – Chair
“The British Pharmacopoeia Commission was established in 1970 under Section 4 of the Medicines Act 1968 (superseded by the Human Medicines Regulations 2012). It is an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care. As such, it has no staff but is supported by a Secretariat from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It has strong links with the wider MHRA, the National Institute of Biological Standards and Control, the pharmaceutical industry and academia. The key role of the BPC is the preparation of the annual editions of the British Pharmacopoeia (BP), which is widely recognised as one of the leading global pharmacopoeias. The publicly available and legally enforceable pharmacopoeial standards are designed to complement and assist the licensing and inspection processes and are part of the system for safeguarding purchasers and users of medicinal products.”
Time: 11 days per annum approx.
Remuneration: GBP500 per meeting.
Closes: 23 February
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Civil Aviation Authority – Non-Executive Director
“The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is a public corporation and the UK’s specialist independent aviation regulator. The CAA has specific responsibilities for aviation safety, security, management of UK airspace, economic regulation of some airports and air traffic control, enforcement of consumer protection rules, and the management of the ATOL financial protection scheme for holidaymakers. The Secretary of State for Transport is seeking to appoint three Non Executive Directors to join the Board of the CAA. We are looking for outstanding individuals who can participate in setting the direction of a key transport regulator as the aviation sector recovers from the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and additional responsibilities as the UK leaves the European Aviation Safety Agency, and shaping the real-world experience of the multiple stakeholders the CAA serves.”
Time: 60 days per annum.
Remuneration: GBP25,000 per annum, plus GBP430 per diem for additional duties.
Closes: 25 February
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Historic Royal Palaces – Trustee
“Historic Royal Palaces has a fundamental charitable commitment to help everyone learn about the palaces in their care and the stories that they hold. It shares its work with the public on-site, off-site and on-line, and in many ways – for example through public programming, formal and informal education programmes, outreach activity and as an Independent Research Organisation. We work in partnership with schools, arts and theatre groups, community organisations and many more. We are award-winning and regarded as internationally-leading in the heritage sector, and we want to build further on this record of achievement.”
Time: One day per month approx.
Remuneration: Expenses.
Closes: 25 February
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