The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 7 Jun 2022 Closed: 9 Oct 2023 Parliament page
Non-executive directors (NEDs) have existed in Government departments in their current form since 2010, but little is known about their roles and impact. The aim of this inquiry is to explore the responsibilities, backgrounds, and influence of non-executives, as well as the appointments process, appropriate roles, and mechanisms for accountability. Read more
21 Recommendations
6 Conclusions
1 Report
3 Oral sessions
1 Letter
3 Events
Activity timeline 9 events
8 Sep
2023
Report published
20 Jun
2023
Report published
7 Feb
2023
Correspondence
17 Jan
2023
Oral evidence
17 Jan
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
8 Nov
2022
Oral evidence
8 Nov
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
19 Jul
2022
Oral evidence
19 Jul
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions
17 Jan 2023
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The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government
Michael Jary · Cabinet Office Rt Hon Jeremy Quin MP · Cabinet Office
8 Nov 2022
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The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government
Dame Sue Street DCB · Ministry of Justice Miranda Curtis CMG · Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sir Ian Cheshire · Channel 4
19 Jul 2022
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The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government Session: 2022-23 Inquiry
Alan Cogbill · Constitution Unit, University College London Dr Matthew Gill · Institute for Government Mr Martin Wheatley · Commission for Smart Government
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventh Report - The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Governme… HC 318 20 Jun 2023 27 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
6 results
Clear
3 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Seventh Report - The Role of Non-E…
Publish departmental board terms of reference and individual non-executive board member responsibilities annually.
We recommend that each Government department make public the terms of reference for their departmental boards, including the individual roles and responsibilities of each non-executive board member. These should be published on GOV.UK and updated annually, or sooner if there … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed that roles and responsibilities of NEBMs should be published for transparency, suggesting this occurs as part of their biographies on departmental websites rather than requiring full departmental board terms of reference to be made public.
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13 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Seventh Report - The Role of Non-E…
Confirm GOV.UK Non-Executive Director list is updated and require annual updates with appointment years.
The Cabinet Office should confirm in their response to this Report that the list of NEDs by department has been updated on GOV.UK, given this transparency data is now two years out of date. In addition to their names and … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms the latest list of NEBMs was in the Lead Non-Executive Annual Report and commits to publishing a supplementary list twice annually, addressing the call for more frequent updates but not explicitly confirming the inclusion of appointment years on GOV.UK.
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15 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Seventh Report - The Role of Non-E…
Confirm timeline for regulating NED appointments and class Lead Non-Executive as significant appointment.
The Cabinet Office should confirm in its response to this Report the timeline for implementing the CSPL recommendation that NED appointments should be regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This should apply to all NED appointments in Government departments. … Read more
Government Response
The government has implemented the regulation of NEBM appointments by updating the Public Appointments Order in Council. However, the classification of the Government Lead Non-Executive position as a 'significant appointment' will be considered during the next refresh of the Significant Appointments list.
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16 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Seventh Report - The Role of Non-E…
Continue and expand annual reporting on departmental Non-Executive Director diversity, including ethnicity data.
The Committee notes that the latest Government Lead Non-Executive Report for 2021–22 shows a drop in female representation on departmental boards since 2020– 21, and we are particularly concerned by the absence of any data on black, Asian, and minority … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to include ethnic minority representation data in the Government Lead Non-Executive Report where it is made available, but will not mandate disclosure. The Commissioner for Public Appointments will also monitor and publish department diversity data annually.
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21 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Seventh Report - The Role of Non-E…
Mandate ministerial board training and require departments to list board evaluation actions
The effective use of departmental boards requires sufficient ministerial interest and regular scrutiny. Secretaries of State should undertake mandatory training, with the Prime Minister’s sponsorship, on their role chairing quarterly board meetings, how to work with NEDs, and how to … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts in part, stating that Lead Non-Executives, supported by NEBMs, should support Secretaries of State in running effective boards, and will provide supporting guidance. They will also encourage all departments to list actions from board effectiveness evaluations in annual reports, rather than mandating it, differing from mandatory training for SoS.
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23 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Seventh Report - The Role of Non-E…
Publish updated Governance Code, board terms of reference, minutes, and Lead NED reports
In chapter two in this Report, we recommend that the Government publishes an updated Corporate Governance Code and terms of reference for each departmental board to provide greater transparency on the individual responsibilities of NEDs. In addition to this, we … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to publish terms of reference for departmental boards and the responsibilities of NEBMs. However, they reject the routine publishing of board minutes and will only consider improvements to the Corporate Governance Code, while indicating an October deadline for the Government Lead Non-Executive report rather than the recommended August.
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Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 21 classified
Accepted 4
Accepted in Part 6
Acknowledged 7
Deferred 3
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 6
Total 21 recs + 6 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
7 Feb 2023 To committee Letter from Rt Hon Jeremy Quin MP on the role of Non-Executive Directors, dated 31.1.23
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