Appointment of the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority

Appointment of the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215040473
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
Incorporating HC 1261-i and HC 1634-i

Appointment of the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority

Appointment of the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215040473
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
Incorporating HC 1261-i and HC 1634-i

Appointment of the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority

Appointment of the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780215039927
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
This report discusses the pre-appointment hearing held on Tuesday 6 December, examining the professional competence and personal independence of the Government's preferred candidate for the post of Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Andrew Dilnot CBE. This was the second pre-appointment hearing for the post to be held by PASC. Following the first hearing in June 2011 the Government's preferred candidate withdrew and a fresh competition was held. Following the withdrawal the Minister for the Cabinet Office said he envisaged a greater role for PASC in the selection process for the Chair of UKSA. PASC was consulted on the composition of the interview panel, and they were pleased that the Government accepted their recommendations for a panel with a more independent element, on which PASC was represented. Mr Dilnot, an economist and broadcaster, has been Principal of St Hugh's College since October 2002 and Pro Vice Chancellor of Oxford University since 2005. Between 1991 and 2002 he was Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The Committee is satisfied that Mr Dilnot has both the professional competences and personal independence necessary to fulfil this role.

Public appointments

Public appointments PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215561787
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Book Description
This report forms the Committee's response to Sir David Normington's consultation on reforming the regulation of public appointments, and looks at further issues relating to the recruitment and pay of public appointees. The Committee welcomes the broad thrust of Sir David Normington's proposed reforms, including the proposal to streamline the existing Code for Public Appointments and to adopt a lighter touch in regulating the public appointments process. It particularly supports his commitment to broadening genuine diversity in public appointments. The Public Appointments Commissioner, however, should be given a new remit to review Departmental appraisal systems, to ensure that underperformance by appointees is consistently addressed and that appointees who are not up to the mark are not reappointed. The Committee also supports the establishment of a government Centre of Excellence for public appointments, which would have the expertise to widen the pool of candidates applying for vacancies. Given their cost to the taxpayer, the Government should reduce the use of recruitment consultants for appointments to public bodies. Substantial savings could be made through utilising and developing the capabilities of existing human resources units in Government Departments and through the establishment of a Centre of Excellence. There is concern that the post of manager of top talent in Whitehall (Director General for Civil Service Capability) has effectively been abolished and its functions dispersed. This post should be re-established.

Select Committees and public appointments

Select Committees and public appointments PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Liaison Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215561244
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
This report considers the experience of some three years of holding 'pre-appointment' hearings by select committees to examine the 'preferred candidate' for certain public appointments before that appointment is confirmed. Whilst the committee considers the experiment a success they do recommend a number of changes. They propose a three tier list: Posts in the first tier are those considered to be of sufficient constitutional significance as to require a process which is effectively a joint appointment by Government and the House of Commons. Posts in the second tier are those which the committee proposes should be subject to an enhanced an improved version of the current process, and which should be subject to an 'effective veto' by the House of Commons or its committees. For posts in the third tier, pre-appointment hearings should be at the discretion of committees.

Sessional Returns

Sessional Returns PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215048387
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

Communicating statistics

Communicating statistics PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215058706
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description
In this report the Public Administration Select Committee recommends that departmental press officers and government statistics staff should work together much more closely to ensure that press releases give an accurate and meaningful picture of the truth behind the figures. Government statistics press releases do not always give a true and fair picture of the story behind the statistics, sometimes going too far to create a newsworthy headline. And the Committee says the ways that statistics are presented can be a challenge even for expert users. The lay user is left confused and disengaged. The Office for National Statistics website makes figures hard to find and statistics are often presented in a confusing way, for example, in formats which are not easily understandable. Other recommendations include: the UK Statistics Authority should work proactively to bring together and clearly present key statistics, from various sources, around common themes or events, such as elections and referendums, as well as broader topics such as the labour market and economic trends; the ONS website must be improved; the Statistics Authority should find more creative ways of communicating statistics, for example, through interactive guides; publication of more raw data in machine-readable format for experts who want the full results, not just the edited highlights presented in releases for a mass audience; government statisticians produce thousands of pieces of data on demand, known as 'ad hoc statistics' and these should be published proactively, rather than simply in reaction to requests.

Public Trust in Government Statistics

Public Trust in Government Statistics PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215054463
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 94

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Book Description
In this report the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) concludes that, despite the positive steps implemented by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (the Act), there remain issues and concerns about the way government statistics are produced and disseminated which remain a genuine risk to public confidence in the statistical system and must be addressed. The Act was intended to ensure that statistics are produced to the highest professional standards and that effective governance structures are in place to protect transparency and accountability and the Committee found the Act had helped to improve the operation of the statistical system. However, the Act needs to have greater clarity and transparency in the way it operates and in the functioning of the UK Statistics Authority (the Statistics Authority). Those who regulate the quality of National Statistics are in the same organisation as those officials who produce data: the two groups should have a clear separation in practice, but this is hard to demonstrate when they work in the same building and share support services. It is also not appropriate that ministers should have lengthy prior access to certain statistics but other interested parties do not. The Statistics Authority does not seem to have sufficient control over the quality and integrity of the different data sets and statistical products produced by departments and their agencies. Planning and improving data access both within Government and for users outside Government should be given greater attention by the Statistics Authority, as well as by Government departments.

The work of committees in 2008-09

The work of committees in 2008-09 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Liaison Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215544742
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
work of committees In 2008-09 : Second report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal minutes and Appendices

The Role of the Charity Commission and Public Benefit

The Role of the Charity Commission and Public Benefit PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215058782
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
This report into the implementation of the Charities Act 2006 finds the Charity Commission being asked to do too much, with too little. The charitable sector is at the heart of UK society, involving millions of people and £9.3 billion received in donations in 2011/2012. Around 25 new applications for charitable status are received by the Charity Commission every working day. Among the reports findings are: one of the keys tests set by the Charities Act 2006 for determining charitable status-the public benefit test-is critically flawed; the Government should revise the statutory objectives for the Charity Commission, to allow the Commission to focus its limited resources on regulating the sector; the proposal to increase the financial threshold for compulsory registration of a charity with the Charity Commission should be rejected; charities should publish their spending on campaigning and political activity. PASC criticises the way the Charity Commission has interpreted public benefit under the Act. The Committee also considered the impact of face-to-face fundraising, or "chugging"-on the street or on the doorstep-and warns that self-regulation has failed so far to generate the level of public confidence which is essential to maintain the reputation of the charitable sector. The evidence was clear that the regulation of fundraising remains a concern for many members of the public. Two in three people have reported feeling uncomfortable as a result of the fundraising methods used by some charities.

Public engagement in policy making

Public engagement in policy making PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215058737
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
In this report the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) calls for a "wiki" approach to policy-making, where public opinion, ideas and contributions are sought and welcome at any and all stages of the policy cycle. The Government should be able to demonstrate that it has adopted this approach alongside ministerial leadership and responsibility for policy and its outcomes. All policy making carries risks: a lack of appetite for participation, disappointment arising from unrealistic expectations and the dominance of vested interests. Government must frankly assess and address these risks in relation to open policy making. Digital technology has a significant role to play in opening up policy-making. Government could and should go further and embrace radical and innovative approaches, making use of existing platforms and technologies, such as Twitter. The success and impact of public engagement in policy-making must be effectively measured. Government must able to demonstrate value for money and improved outcomes with this new approach, particularly in a time of austerity. The Committee says proposals for both "open" and "contestable" policy-making demonstrate that Government recognises the value of public opinion in helping to identify problems and develop solutions. However, for open policy-making to work, it must be a genuine departure from more traditional forms of policy-making, where public engagement has usually only occurred after the Government has already determined a course of action. Care must be taken to ensure that open policy-making processes are not dominated by vested interests or 'the usual suspects' who are aware of policy 'opportunities'.