Written evidence from The Institute for Government[1] (NED03)

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government inquiry

Many thanks to the Committee for the opportunity to give evidence in person in the hearing on Tuesday 19th July. I write with some short supplementary evidence on the accountability of NEDs to Parliament, which was discussed at the very end of the hearing.

• In the Institute for Government’s report on the appointment and conduct of departmental NEDs (https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/departmental-neds) we proposed that, as well as departmental NEDs in general being regulated, the government lead NED could be considered a significant appointment and made subject to a pre-appointment hearing by PACAC. There are precedents for this with other key appointments and it would enhance parliamentary accountability for the departmental board system overall.

• Additionally, the government lead NED and any of the departmental NEDs might be called by the relevant select committees to provide evidence when appropriate. When doing so, NEDs should be able to provide an expert view on departmental operations and effectiveness in their areas of focus, given their scrutiny role, although they should not be asked to evaluate or criticise government policy for which they are not responsible.

Thanks again to the Committee for the opportunity to give evidence on Tuesday 19th July. I look forward to reading the Committee’s report in due course.

July 2022