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Guidance

Public Appointments - Pre-Appointment Scrutiny (HTML)

Published 21 May 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-appointments-pre-appointment-scrutiny/public-appointments-pre-appointment-scrutiny-html

For these posts, the added level of scrutiny of the overall process provides an additional safeguard to verify that the recruitment meets the principles set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments (PDF, 132KB). 

The below list of posts are those that the Government considers to be subject to pre-appointment scrutiny. 

Regulated Public Appointments, subject to Pre-Appointment Scrutiny 

Attorney General

  • HM Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service 

Department for Business and Trade 

  • Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority 
  • Groceries Code Adjudicator 
  • Chair of the Regulatory Policy Committee 

Cabinet Office 

  • Chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments 
  • Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life 
  • Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission
  • Chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission 
  • Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists 
  • Chair of the UK Statistics Authority 

Ministry of Defence 

  • Service Complaints Ombudsman

Department for Culture, Media and Sport 

  • Chair of the BBC 
  • Chair of the Charity Commission
  • Chair of Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C)

Department for Education

  • Children’s Commissioner for England 
  • HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 
  • Chair of the Office for Students 
  • Chief Regulator for Ofqual 
  • Chair of the Social Mobility Commission

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero 

  • Chair of the Committee on Climate Change 
  • Chair of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 

  • Chair of the Environment Agency 
  • Chair of Natural England 
  • Chair of the Water Services Regulatory Authority

Department of Health and Social Care

  • Chair of the Care Quality Commission 
  • Chair of the Food Standards Agency 
  • Health Service Commissioner for England (office also held by Parliament Commissioner for Administration) 
  • The National Data Guardian 
  • Chair of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
  • Chair of NHS England 
  • Chair of Monitor (known as NHS Improvement)

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 

  • Chair of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact 

Home Office

  • Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 
  • HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and HM Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services 
  • Chair of Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 

  • Commissioner for Local Administ
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