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Civil Servants
3. Dr. Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test): What steps he is taking to encourage exchange of expertise between United Kingdom and Commonwealth civil servants. [39791]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle): We are keen to encourage the exchange of expertise between the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Governments. There is a range of formal and informal mechanisms through which we exchange expertise with Commonwealth Governments. The Cabinet Office's international public service unit promotes and exports United Kingdom expertise in public sector reform and public administration. The Cabinet Office is also a member of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration, whose aim is to enhance Commonwealth co-operation in improving managerial competence in government.
Dr. Whitehead: I thank my hon. Friend for that full answer. In the light of what he says, is he prepared to have another look at the regulations passed by the previous Government, which effectively prevent Commonwealth citizens from applying for United Kingdom civil service jobs?
Mr. Kilfoyle: I should like to see progress being made in opening up the civil service to selection on merit regardless of nationality--but in a way that does not compromise the United Kingdom's right to reserve posts
for its own nationals when necessary. A straightforward reversal of the 1996 rule changes would carry a real risk that the United Kingdom might lose that right. It would lay us open to legal challenges from non-Irish European economic area nationals saying that they had been discriminated against, and an unfavourable judgment in the European Court of Justice might find that we had prejudiced our position by appointing Irish and Commonwealth citizens to reserved posts.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that such exchanges are extremely valuable? It is a question not of a civil servant from Australia simply taking the job of an official in England, but of possibilities for officials from both sides to have the opportunity to work in different Government Departments. Does he also agree that it would be valuable to offer places in British Ministries to the occasional European Union official, to give those people a chance to see how our officials work? Might not the presence of a French Enarque in the DHSS do wonders for the administration of British government?
Mr. Kilfoyle: The hon. Gentleman will be aware that we do not have a Department of Health and Social Security any more; we have two separate Departments, so unless the official were schizophrenic he would have great difficulty. However, the point about reciprocity in such exchanges is well made. We learn as we teach other Governments, and we extend our influence within them.
Public Appointments
4. Fiona Mactaggart (Slough): What background checks are conducted on people who are appointed to public bodies. [39792]
The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle): The selection process for public appointments assesses the merit of candidates, their ability to maintain standards in public life, and any potential bars to their appointment. As part of this process, Departments may take up references and make other background checks where that is justified by the nature of the post.
Fiona Mactaggart: I thank the Minister for that reply. Is he confident that the requirements in the code of practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, and practice in general, are sufficiently rigorous in relation to taking up references? It seems to me that it should be the normal practice to take up references, especially references from most recent employers, for people seeking appointment to public bodies. Would the Minister commend that practice to Ministers in other Departments who make such appointments?
Mr. Kilfoyle: I would certainly commend that practice. I should also point out that the code of practice is working well, and that the commissioner has played an important role in bringing it into effect. I should also tell my hon. Friend that it is for the Department responsible for the public body in question to ensure that the guidance from the Cabinet Office is followed.
Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire): Bearing in mind the fact that at least three notable ladies--
Baroness Jay, Baroness Hayman and Brenda Dean--owed their appointments to health bodies to the previous Government, can the Minister tell the House on how many occasions political allegiance has been taken into account in appointing people to and dismissing people from public bodies over the past year?
Mr. Kilfoyle: A question about political appointments would have been better addressed to the Conservative Government. Under the present Government, appointments are made strictly on the basis of merit, and the overwhelming majority of appointments made are non-political, involving people who make a contribution through public bodies to the public life of this country.
Mr. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey): Does the Minister agree that if we are to modernise this country, the CVs of applicants should show that they are not only IT compliant but millennium compliant?
Mr. Kilfoyle: That would be a testing proposition were we to apply it to Conservative Members--we should start with their compliance and computer literacy.
Electronic Service Delivery
5. Mr. Michael Fabricant (Lichfield): What plans he has to extend his Department's activities in respect of digital communications. [39793]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Dr. David Clark): The key to the Government's approach is flexibility. We see a variety of channels as providing user-friendly access to electronic government services. The Government's target for electronic delivery of services is not dependent on a single technology or delivery channel. Telephone call centres, personal computers, kiosks, other public access terminals and digital broadcasting are all examples of possible delivery channels.
Mr. Fabricant: Does the Chancellor accept that it is an accident of history that the means of digital communication, whether by telephone, broadcast, narrowcast, cable and so on, are the responsibility of several Government Departments--his own, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Trade and Industry? What is his personal view on that? Does he not think that it would be better were they encompassed within, and regulated by, one Government Department?
Dr. Clark: One of the things that shook me most when I took over my office 12 months ago was to find that we had inherited a position whereby Government Departments could not speak to each other electronically. I found that quite staggering in the modern age. One of the matters on which I have spent a great deal of effort over the past 12 months is the installation of a Government secure intranet, which allows Government Departments to interact electronically. Building on that platform, we can have a truly modern Government and, by using information technology, we can deliver services to our citizens at a time and in a manner of their convenience and of their choosing.
Ministerial Visits
6. Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): When he next intends to visit the Ribble valley to discuss his responsibilities in relation to the Duchy. [39794]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Dr. David Clark): I had the opportunity to pay a visit to the Ribble valley on 1 September 1997 during a tour of the Duchy estates, but I have no plans to pay another visit in the immediate future.
Mr. Evans: That is a great shame--I hope that the Chancellor will look again at his diary. I do not accept the rubbish written in newspapers to the effect that he is ready for the chop in the Prime Minister's first reshuffle, because I am sure that the Prime Minister has total confidence in him and the work that he has done over the past 12 months. In the many months ahead of him, will he visit the Ribble valley and other parts of the Duchy to get the message across about the fund he has at his disposal that receives money from people who have died intestate, which helps organisations, some of which are in the Ribble valley? Will he give publicity to that fund, so that more organisations will be able to apply for funds from that source?
Dr. Clark: I know the Ribble valley well and have spent many enjoyable hours on the side of Clougha and around Dunsop bridge. I accept the hon. Gentleman's kind words. I am not a trustee of the benevolent fund, but, since assuming office, I have widened the membership of the trustees of the fund and have requested--the request has been agreed to--that each of the three lords lieutenant in the County Palatine should have advisory committees to help them to make assessments as to how the charitable grants should be disbursed. I shall certainly take on board the hon. Gentleman's point and try to increase the publicity given to the benevolent fund.
Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley): I know that my right hon. Friend is anxious to ensure that magistrates represent the areas in which they serve. In the Ribble valley and the whole of the County Palatine, is he getting sufficient nominations to ensure that magistrates benches are representative of their local area?
Dr. Clark: My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point. When appointing magistrates, one is required to follow the guideline that one should appoint magistrates who reflect the demographic character of the local population, specifically including the political and religious character. I have to say that, within the County Palatine, there has been a considerable imbalance. That cannot be put right overnight, but we need to make great efforts to ensure that we follow the guidelines. To assist, I have tried to ease up the age of initial appointment, and now, not only in the County Palatine but throughout England, initial appointments to the magistrates bench can be made up to the age of 65, instead of there being a cut-off age of 55. Many people have taken early retirement and have the experience and the knowledge to make good magistrates. I urge hon. Members on both sides of the House to submit names to the responsible bodies, to try to ensure that that key feature of our magistracy and our legislative system can flourish.
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