Public boards should reflect diversity, says minister

Public boards should reflect the diversity of society and welcome a range of skills and experience, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office has said at an event encouraging greater disability inclusion in Public Appointments.

Public bodies play an important role in public life across the UK in sectors from healthcare to education, criminal justice to trade, energy, security and defence. Roles of public bodies include NHS England, the British Museum, Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, the Parole Board, the Royal Parks, VisitBritain, Forestry Commission, National Park Authorities, and the Big Lottery Fund.

Appointees to the boards of public bodies provide leadership, strategic direction, and hold public bodies to account; or they provide specialist expertise. That is why the Minister has highlighted the importance of making public bodies more representative of the country.

Published figures show that 46% of our public appointees are women, 11% are from an ethnic minority background and 8% report having a disability.

Addressing a talent pool within the disabled community at a reception hosted by the Cabinet Office, Korn Ferry and Purple, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State said:

The makeup of public boards ought to reflect our diverse society; welcoming a wide range of skills, experience and expertise. Involving more people on boards from across the country is very important to me and we are continuing our programmes of regional outreach to this end.

We have to continue to find ways of attracting the best in class which means encouraging  talented people of all backgrounds from across the UK to join public boards. We must continue to ensure representation of all groups and improve accessibility, ensuring opportunities are open to all.

The government is working to make the Public Appointments process more accessible for candidates. For example, location should no longer be a barrier to appointment, with boards facilitating participation in board activities remotely for disabled board members where appropriate and if the board member would like to do so.

In May 2022, the Public Appointments team launched a new, improved digital service for public appointments built to meet government accessibility standards. This project will help to open up public appointments to more people by helping the government to better target future interventions to support both new applicants and appointees.