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First Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments preferred candidate selected

CAB 199/10 
12 November 2010

Following an open recruitment exercise, Sir David Normington, currently Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, has been selected as the Government’s preferred candidate for appointment to the dual role of First Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments in succession to Dame Janet Pareskeva and Dame Janet Gaymer.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office has asked the Public Administration Select Committee to hold a pre-appointment hearing with Sir David.  The Committee’s conclusions will be considered carefully before deciding whether or not to proceed with the appointment.

Notes for Editors

The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission who regulate appointments to the Civil Service.  The Commissioner for Public Appointments regulates ministerial appointments to the boards of public bodies.  Under the dual role the two separate appointments’ processes for the Civil Service and public appointments will be retained, but the combined role will be used to achieve synergies and efficiencies between the two.

Sir David Normington was the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education from 2001-2005. He has been the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office since 2006.  He will retire from the Civil Service at the end of this year.

The open recruitment exercise for the dual role appointment has been conducted in line with the Civil Service Commission’s  Recruitment Principles and procedures. 

Pre-appointment scrutiny hearings enable select committees to take evidence from candidates for certain key public appointments before they are appointed.  Hearings are in public and involve the select committee publishing a report setting out their views on the candidate’s suitability for the post.

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