Sent: 26 June 2009 16:54
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Huw,

For information I have attached a copy of the candidate briefing pack reference by your correspondent - and pg 12 notes the text in your below email. 

You will see that we did include a caveat here that at the time of publication of the briefing pack we were requesting a post appointment hearing, but that this was pending. 

[sentences not related to pre-appointment hearing and/or LGO appointment process omitted]

 And to add clarity for candidates we included the full Cabinet Office guidance so they could clearly see the different requirements of holding a pre or post hearing.

Jamie

Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 4:32 PM
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Jamie, and colleagues in his absence,

As the message below shows, I have been requested to arrange a pre-appointment hearing for the replacement Local Government Ombudsman currently being recruited.

According to correspondence which the Committee has received from a member of the public, the candidate pack says, with reference to this hearing, "However, because of timetabling issues and the Parliamentary vacation, we have submitted a request for the hearing to take place after appointment. This request is currently pending."

[paragraph not related to pre-appointment hearing and/or LGO process omitted]

Huw

Sent: 23 June 2009 13:51
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Vanita,

Thanks for forwarding the below.  And as you know the Senior Clerk of the CLG Committee is querying us on this [see Huw's email below].

I note that on pg 12 of the attached brief for the Local Govt Ombudsman recruitment that we do indeed say that we are seeking clearance to hold a post appointment hearing due to timetabling issues and Parliamentary vacation.

And as Huw notes what the pack says then, which was right at the time of publication, is not the case now - given that John Healey has decided that we should pursue a pre appointment hearing for a new ombudsman. 

To make sure we have the bases covered, [sentence not related to pre-appointment hearing and/or LGO process omitted] can you confirm if John Healey cleared the attached recruitment brief, in particular the Post Appointment Section of the pack? 

Also, its worth checking with legal [if you have not done so already?] that what we have said in the recruitment pack is ok - given that we say:

Generally such hearings occur before a candidate is appointed. However, because of timetabling issues and the Parliamentary vacation, we have submitted a request for the hearing to take place after appointment. This request is currently pending. 

To me this reads as ok as we have put in the caveat of "requesting" for a post appointment hearing - but best to be sure?  Do we need to say publicly what we are doing?  Again I think legal can advise.

I'll send the Clerk a holding line for now and grateful if you could come back to me by end of this week.

Jamie

Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 12:33 PM
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Andrew.

I attach a copy of the final information pack.

I can confirm we did indeed seek from Ministers approval to request a post-appointment hearing for the appointment of a new Ombudsman.  We had looked at compressing the schedule (to enable a pre-appt hearing to take place in July before recess), but we agreed with liaison officer colleagues the revised schedule did not allow for any slippage in the appointment process, and would not therefore be compatible.

Hence, we wanted a post-appointment hearing,  provision for which, under exceptional circumstances, exists. The Minister did not believe that we should move to a post-appointment hearing, and requested that the appointment timetable be adjusted to accommodate a pre-appointment hearing.

I attach the submission, which also incorporates a draft letter for the Minister to send the Chair of the Departmental select committee. The submission refers to the timing of the Ombudsman's departure and of Parliament's 2009 summer recess, meaning that waiting until recess is over to undertake pre-appointment hearings would result in the new Ombudsman not being in post until early 2010.

Accordingly our submission mentions that it would be beneficial to request that the select committee hearing in this case be a post-appointment hearing. A post-hearing in October would allow us to seek Royal Consent and Royal Warrant prior to this and speed up the process for appointing the next Ombudsman and Vice Chair.

We also indicated in the submission we would wish to make arrangements at any early stage so that prospective candidates who wished to apply were aware of when the appointment hearing would falls within the timetable.

We felt exceptional circumstances existed in this case to warrant a request for a post-appointment hearing. Informal discussions by liaison officer colleagues with the Clerk indicated that the Committee may be sympathetic to our request, however we were equally clear this should not be taken as a commitment that an affirmative answer on a post-appt hearing would be forthcoming.

We were advised to put forward our case in the form of a submission, which included a draft letter to the Clerk of the Committee. At the time of the post been advertised we had not received a response from the Minister on our request for a post-appointment hearing. Accordingly we felt unable to advise applicants in the candidate brief whether a pre-appointment would apply. We determined that we should make clear we had put a request (to Ministers) and that this was currently pending. By not making this clear, applicants could query the decision to amend a pre-appointment hearing to a post-appointment hearing. Furthermore, the Cabinet Office guidance is clear that we should make clear in the candidate brief that we advise candidates when a pre-appointment would take place.

[paragraphs not related to pre-appointment hearing and/or LGO process omitted]

We would be happy to discuss this further with Husna.

Vanita

Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 8:29 AM

Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Stephen, Vanita

Husna will take point on this, in Jamie's absence, and will be in touch.  Ahead of that, might it please be possible to forward the candidate pack referred to in Huw's email?

Many thanks

Andrew

Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 4:32 PM
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Jamie, and colleagues in his absence,

As the message below shows, I have been requested to arrange a pre-appointment hearing for the replacement Local Government Ombudsman currently being recruited.

According to correspondence which the Committee has received from a member of the public, the candidate pack says, with reference to this hearing, "However, because of timetabling issues and the Parliamentary vacation, we have submitted a request for the hearing to take place after appointment. This request is currently pending."

As the closing date for the post has passed, I have been unable to check whether it is indeed the case that the pack says that. If it does, we obviously have a problem, because it is not true. I'd be grateful for your earliest possible clarification of this point.

Many thanks

Huw

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Sent: 20 May 2009 13:02
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Huw,

As your aware a search for a new Local Government Ombudsman - charged by Parliament to investigate claims from those who believe they have suffered an injustice as a result of maladministration by local authorities - is underway to replace Jerry White, one of the three Local Government Ombudsman for England, who steps down in September.

I gather that colleagues here had previously booked with you an appointment for the first week of Parliament's return - w/c 12 Oct.  I'd be grateful if you could ascertain which date/time would suit the Committee in this week pls to hold a pre-appointment hearing for the Ombudsman.

Jamie

_____________________________________________

Sent:   Tuesday, May 19, 2009 1:11 PM
Subject:        Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Jamie

I understand you have taken over from Joel as liaison officer for the Clerk of the Committee

I also understand Joel has updated you on the Local Government Ombudsman and request for a post-appointment hearing.  The Minister feels a pre-appointment hearing is an important fundamental and does not want to alter this approach.

We will therefore be working on the basis of a pre-appointment hearing. In my earlier emails and conversations with Joel I  requested provisional booking of the first week of their return (12 Oct) for a post-appointment hearing should it be granted. I  understand this slot is still available. I would be grateful if arrangements could now be made to secure this slot for a pre-appointment hearing. 

I would be grateful if you could confirm this slot, which will then allow me to inform our recruitment consultants who will  advise shortlisted candidates the likely period for a pre-appointment hearing.

Vanita

Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 1:08 PM
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

There are 3 local govt ombudsmen (LGO) to whom the public can complain about the service they receive from their local authority. Each one covers a different geographical area.

New LGOs should now be interviewed by the Select Committee at a pre appointment hearing before royal assent is granted

A LGO retired unexpectedly and the LG team here wanted to recruit one to start as soon as the other one stepped down. However because a pre appointment hearing would fall during summer recess the appointment would be delayed by several months

Local Govt approached Scott and me and raised concerns that this could seriously hinder the service provided to the public

Scott and I spoke to Huw in March and Huw indicated that the Committee would likely be flexible given the circumstances and agree that the recruitment could be completed over the summer, with a post appointment hearing taking place as soon as parliament returned. He suggested John Healey write to Phyllis Starkey suggesting this.

[sentence not related to pre-appointment hearing and/or LGO process omitted]

John Healey responded on 14 May saying that he felt the pre appointment hearing was too important to be moved and decided it would be better to have a period of being one LGO short

The advert was due to go out at the end of April (before JH made his decision) [sentence not related to pre-appointment hearing and/or LGO process omitted]

Joel

Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 4:37 PM
Subject: FW: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

FYI- do you have any background info on this?

Husna

Sent: 20 May 2009 13:02
Subject: RE: Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Huw,

As your aware a search for a new Local Government Ombudsman - charged by Parliament to investigate claims from those who believe they have suffered an injustice as a result of maladministration by local authorities - is underway to replace Jerry White, one of the three Local Government Ombudsman for England, who steps down in September.

I gather that colleagues here had previously booked with you an appointment for the first week of Parliament's return - w/c 12 Oct.  I'd be grateful if you could ascertain which date/time would suit the Committee in this week pls to hold a pre-appointment hearing for the Ombudsman.

Jamie

_____________________________________________

Sent:   Tuesday, May 19, 2009 1:11 PM
Subject:        Local Government Ombudsman - pre-appointment hearing

Jamie

I understand you have taken over from Joel as liaison officer for the Clerk of the Committee

I also understand Joel has updated you on the Local Government Ombudsman and request for a post-appointment hearing.  The Minister feels a pre-appointment hearing is an important fundamental and does not want to alter this approach.

We will therefore be working on the basis of a pre-appointment hearing. In my earlier emails and conversations with Joel I  requested provisional booking of the first week of their return (12 Oct) for a post-appointment hearing should it be granted. I  understand this slot is still available. I would be grateful if arrangements could now be made to secure this slot for a pre-appointment hearing. 

I would be grateful if you could confirm this slot, which will then allow me to inform our recruitment consultants who will  advise shortlisted candidates the likely period for a pre-appointment hearing.

Vanita