Written evidence from The Public Chairs’ Forum (NED06)

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government inquiry

1. Introducing Public Chairs’ Forum

Founded in 2007, Public Chairs’ Forum (PCF) is a unique membership network, exclusive to Chairs of Public Bodies.

PCF seeks to strengthen UK public services, by providing peer support, insight, inspiration and education for Chairs of Public Bodies.

PCF members are frequently invited to engage with central government consultations, roundtables and projects influencing change across public bodies.

Sarah Healey CB, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is PCF central government sponsor.

Membership of PCF is available to Arm’s-Length Bodies; whether Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPB) or Executives Agencies, ranging in size and operating in a variety of fields from regulation to operational delivery. 

PCF is currently chaired by Helen Pitcher OBE, Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

PCF is based at the Institute for Government’s offices in Carlton Gardens, London.

2. Introducing our evidence

Recognising governance in government and public service is not well understood, PCF and Nous Group recently published ‘The Chair in Government’:

https://publicchairsforum.org.uk/the-chair-in-government/

Released in July 2022, this research report was based on a sample of survey responses and a range of interviews with chairs of public bodies and civil servants.

While we acknowledge the role of chair of the public body may be distinct from roles on departmental boards, we consider there may be elements of our recent insight which provide helpful stimulus for PACAC consideration.

Our research findings, and their particular relevance for PACAC’s inquiry, are summarised below.

3. Summarising our evidence

A.     The public body chair role is uniquely rewarding, providing a distinct opportunity to give back

• Real opportunity for positive difference: The primary reward of the role is the opportunity to improve circumstances or systems which can benefit society. The opportunity to guide strategic decisions over activities that will impact the nation. 
• Intellectually stimulating: Chairs are high-performing individuals who enjoy the complexities of the arm’s length body (ALB) chair role, and the opportunity to work within a network of highly interesting people and agendas.
• Distinctive role: Being a public chair is not a one-size-fits all role, ALBs benefit from different chairing approaches.
• Bring unique contribution: Chairs are proud of their ability to bring their diverse backgrounds to ALBs. Extensive industry experience enabled them to bring external expertise to their organisations.
• Enable collective impact: Chairs don’t act alone, and value the opportunity to bring the collective insights of the board into a common voice to provide the greatest organizational and social benefit.

Many of these motivations may also drive current and potential departmental board members. It is important that recruitment processes, and the way appointees are engaged with when in post, provide the necessary encouragement and opportunity to participate in line with these motivations.

B.      The public sector is a more complex and constrained space than the private or third sector

• Complex stakeholder environment: The chair’s traditional dedication to stakeholders does not always neatly align with directions from ministers and sponsoring departments. Ambiguities about the connection between government and the ALB has knock-on effects for the chair.
• Distinct clarity of mission: The mission of ALBs are distinct from private or third sector bodies. They do not need to engage with market-based competition but need to consider the public’s interests in a more direct way.
• Constrained scope of action: Government processes create operational nuances, and there is a higher degree of oversight and process-orientation than in the private sector. While chairs expected a higher degree of oversight, they were surprised by the extent of it.
• Differences from ALB to ALB: each public chair role is distinctive and will differ depending on its organisation’s sponsoring department, statutory positioning, source of finance, requirement of specialist knowledge, level of public and political interest, and the extent to which it plays a policy role.

As for ALB boards, departmental boards need sensitivity – and support – to understand the constraints of working within government, the range of stakeholders involved, and the specific needs of their particular department.

C.      A distinct set of skills and attributes are required to be an effective public body chair

While the skills of ALB chairs have many similarities with chairing roles in other sectors, the government environment is often more complex and ambiguous.

Personal attributes

Attentiveness, credibility, courage, curiosity, empathy, enthusiasm, generosity, humility, resilience, restraint, sound judgement.

Professional skills

• Foundational: Build strong stakeholder relationships, chair meetings, challenge supportively, leverage professional experience and network, represent a collective voice, work collaboratively, work comfortably with complexity.
• Excellence: Advocate for the ALB in the sector, elevate the CEO and executive team, navigate the sector stakeholder group, provide sector insights.

Working with government

• Foundational: Abide by the Nolan principles, understand the parliamentary sovereignty.
• Excellence: Savvy engagement with parliamentary mechanisms, work effectively with relevant ministers.

As for ALB boards, the above skills may be prioritised when assessing the suitability for appointment of departmental board members.

July 2022