Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 22 November (HL3771), what assessment they have made of (1) the UK Endorsement Board's objectives for its endorsement activities, (2) the risk of the Board being subject to regulatory capture, (3) conflicts of interest among the legal advisers to the Board, and (4) the process for appointments to the Board.

The UK Endorsement Board’s (UKEB) objectives for its endorsement activities are set out in the International Accounting Standards and European Public Limited-Liability Company (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The UKEB Terms of Reference further elaborate on how my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects it to undertake those activities. The UKEB is obliged to report annually to the Secretary of State on the discharge of its delegated functions. This report is laid before Parliament.

Ensuring the independence of the UKEB was a key priority when it was established. Oversight of UKEB’s governance and due process is provided by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) but its technical decision-making is independent of the FRC.

UKEB Board members are required to complete a Register of Interests, available on the UKEB website.

The Chair of the UKEB is to be appointed by the Secretary of State, following a fair and open recruitment process led by the BEIS Public Appointments, in line with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code for Public Appointments. The appointment of Board members also follows the process set out in the code, with appointments made by the Chair of the UKEB with the approval of the Secretary of State.