About us
1. A public appointment is an appointment to the board of a public body. Public bodies work within a framework set by Ministers but operate, at a day to day level, independently of Government. Most public bodies are led by boards comprising non-executive Chairs and members appointed by Ministers. These are considered public appointments.
2. The Treasury has relatively few public appointments compared to many other Government departments. Responsibility for individual campaigns is delegated to sponsor teams within the Treasury, with the Permanent Secretary's office retaining overall responsibility for those appointments and for standards of propriety.
3. Court’s role is to manage the Bank of England’s affairs, other than the formulation of monetary policy. The Bank of England Act 1998 provides for Court to determine the Bank’s objectives and strategy, to ensure the effective discharge of the Bank’s functions and, subject to that, to ensure the most efficient use of the Bank’s resources.
4. The Banking Act 2009 introduced a number of reforms to the governance of the Bank of England, including modernising the operations of Court reducing its size from 19 down to 12 members, of whom a majority must be non-executive and formalising the current arrangements. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has designated Sir David Lees to Chair the meetings of Court.
5. The Act provides for the appointment, by the Crown, of a Governor, two Deputy Governors and nine non-executive Directors. The term of appointment for the Governor and two Deputy Governors is five years and for the Directors, three years, all of which are renewable. Last year though, some were initially appointed for different durations so as to stagger end dates and help ensure continuity.
6. The Chair of Court earns a remuneration of £30,000 a year, Committee Chairs and the Deputy Chair of Court earn £20,000 a year and a non-executive director earns £15,000 a year.
7. Further information on the Court of the Bank of England, including current appointees, can be found on the Bank of England's website.
8. The estates forming The Crown Estate are part of the hereditary possessions of the Sovereign in right of the Crown. The Crown Estate is a statutory corporation, in effect acting as trustees on behalf of the Sovereign in the maintenance and enhancement of the Estate's value.
9. Crown Estate Commissioners are selected in accordance with the Government's general principles for public appointments, and the selection panel includes an OPCA member. Commissioner appointments are made by HM The Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister who, in turn, has been advised by the Chancellor. Prior to this, HM Treasury also seeks the endorsement of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary.
10. Further information on the Crown Estate’s Board, including current appointees, can be found on the Crown Estate's website.
11. The Treasury is committed to achieving the highest standards in public appointments. Our processes are fair and transparent, and diversity is taken into account, and acted upon, both during recruitment campaigns and generally.
12. In order to ensure fairness in its public appointments processes, the Treasury ensures that all advertising welcomes applications from suitably qualified under represented groups. For example, Braille and audio copies of application forms are available for all public appointments vacancies.
13. The Treasury's appointment policies are guided by the Government's overall commitment to equal representation of women and men, pro-rata representation of ethnic minorities and the increased participation of disabled people. Over the coming year, the Treasury will continue to work with sponsor bodies to explore ways in which its diversity, indeed to appointments generally, can be improved.
14. If you have any questions about Treasury public appointments, please contact the Correspondence & Enquiry Unit.
