The Children’s Secretary, Ed Balls has today written to the Chairman of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee to invite him to hold a pre-appointment hearing with Maggie Atkinson, who he has nominated to be the next Children’s Commissioner when Sir Al Aynsley-Green comes to the end of his five year appointment on 28 February 2010.
The Children’s Commissioner for England, established through the Children’s Act 2004, gives a voice to all children and young people – especially the disadvantaged and the vulnerable. Independent of government, it is a critical means of raising the profile of the issues that affect children in England, by championing their interests and bringing their concerns and views into the national arena.Maggie Atkinson has been nominated following a competitive and rigorous selection process, validated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Today, Children’s Secretary Ed Balls is inviting the Children and Families Select Committee to hold a pre-appointment hearing and to report on Maggie Atkinson’s suitability for the post. The Secretary of State will carefully consider the Select Committee’s views. This is in line with new proposals to increase democratic scrutiny of key public appointments.
Editor’s Notes
This press notice relates to ‘England’
1. The Children’s Commissioner’s function is established in the Children’s Act 2004. The first Commissioner, Sir Al Aynsley-Green was appointed by the Secretary of State on 1 March 2005.
2. The Children’s Commissioner is an independent champion of children promoting awareness of their views and interests across all sectors of society, including central government, local government and private industry. 3. Maggie Atkinson has been Director of Children’s Services in Gateshead since 2003. She was President of the ADCS (Association of Directors of Children’s Services) until March 2008, and is currently chair of the National Expert Group on the Children’s Workforce and national chair for the new Centre of Excellence in Outcomes (C4EO). 4. The government’s proposals for pre-appointment hearings are set out in the Governance of Britain White Paper. 5. Pre-appointment scrutiny hearings enable select committees to take evidence from candidates for certain key public appointments before they are appointed. Hearings are in public and involve the select committee publishing a report setting out their views on the candidate’s suitability for the post. Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding but ministers will consider the committee’s views before deciding whether to proceed with the appointment. 6. The Governance of Britain White Paper states that pre-appointment hearings should be held for posts that exercise statutory or other powers in relation to protecting the public’s rights and interests – as well as for posts that play a role in the regulation and administration of the appointments process itself. The list of posts suitable for pre-appointment hearings is published in the government’s Response to the Liaison Committee’s First Special Report of Session 2007-08. (Liaison Committee, First Special Report of Session 2007-08, Pre-appointment hearings by select committees: Government Response, HC 594)Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
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