Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what requirement there is on each Department to oversee the application of business appointment rules.

As set out in Written Statement HCWS185, the Government is working with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to improve the operation and efficacy of the Business Appointment Rules.

The recommendations from Nigel Boardman’s report into the development and use of supply chain finance in government, as well as the Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, will be considered as a part of this work with an update to be published later this year.

The Civil Service Management Code requires departments to make appropriate arrangements that reflect the Business Appointment Rules for Civil Servants. Departments should provide an assurance statement outlining their application of the Rules. Departmental Audit and Risk Committees are required to consider the implementation of the Rules in their departments. Departments are also required to publish summary information in respect of individuals at director and deputy director grades, including special advisers of equivalent standing.