DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight has called for the government
to rule out candidates previously deemed to be unappointable from
applying again for the post of Chair of Ofcom.
The re-running of the recruitment process to appoint a new Chair
of the communications regulator is being challenged because its
campaign information fails to state that candidates previously
deemed unappointable should not re-apply – viewed as an industry
standard when a campaign is being re-run.
The DCMS Committee has urged the Department for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport to include this message in the recruitment
documentation for potential applicants.
DCMS Committee Chair said:
“The DCMS Committee has once again had to raise important
concerns around the appointments process for the new Chair of
Ofcom. The recruitment process is being re-run despite the
absence of any adequate explanation being provided by government
on the need to do so.
“Where a previous candidate has been deemed to be unappointable
for a post, they should be ruled out of re-applying. However,
this crucial line is missing from the campaign information to
recruit Ofcom’s next Chair. It would be extremely alarming if
this was a deliberate omission rather than an oversight and we
are seeking clarification.”
ENDS
DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight previously questioned the lack
of clarity around the need to re-run the process to
appoint a new Chair of Ofcom and expressed concern at an
unnecessary delay.
Note to editors:
Please see attached letter from the Chair to Sarah Fry, Head of
Appointments, Honours & Awards, Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport.
