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8 June 2026
11:59pm on 9 July 2026
16 July 2026
14 August 2026
Some public appointments are made by the Prime Minister, or the Crown on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Others are made by Secretaries of State or other ministers and are of interest to the Prime Minister.
Public appointments made by or of interest to the Prime Minister
In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in.
Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions. To apply, all candidates are required to provide:
You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.
This appointment is not regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. However, this process will be conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. The public appointments process can be lengthy. However, we aim to conclude the appointment process within four months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.
Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they are consulted at every stage of the appointments process. To assist them in their decision-making, an Advisory Assessment Panel (the "Panel") is appointed, whose role is to objectively determine which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.
The assessment process for a public appointment is set out below:
1. Shortlisting
At the shortlisting meeting, the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on and agree the final shortlist.
2. Shortlist outcome
Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by email) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will then be invited to an interview in London.
3. Interviews & selection
The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. Interviews are expected to take place in London and will last for approximately 45 minutes. The names of all appointable candidates, along with the Panel’s recommendations and a report detailing the assessment methods and interview outcomes, are provided to Ministers. It is then for Ministers to determine merit and make the final decision on who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.
4. Interview outcome
Once the Minister for the Cabinet Office has selected his ‘preferred candidate’, his recommendation will be shared with the Prime Minister for agreement. Once an appointment decision has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application.
5. Final approval & Pre-appointment Scrutiny
The successful candidate will attend a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing held by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) prior to their formal appointment. Following this hearing, PACAC will publish a report endorsing or not endorsing the appointment.
6. Formal Appointment
Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment upon accepting the position.
7. Feedback
Candidates who are unsuccessful at the interview stage will receive feedback from the Cabinet Office Partnerships & Appointments Team. Please note that feedback is only available for interviewed candidates.
Cat Little CB has no political activity to declare.
James Quinault CBE has no political activity to declare.
David Foley has no political activity to declare.
Kirsty McHugh has no political activity to declare.
Rachel Halford has no political activity to declare.
In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.
There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.
The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards.
You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:
you are disqualified from acting as a company director (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);
have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;
your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.
When you apply, you should declare if:
you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this.
you are subject to a current police investigation.
You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points.
When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)If you are not completely satisfied with the recruitment process, please contact the Cabinet Office Public Appointments Team (copa.partnerships@cabinetoffice.gov.uk). They will investigate your complaint and issue you with a response within 10 working days which addresses your concerns and recommends remedial action if required.
If you are not content with this response your complaint can be escalated to the Deputy Director of Cabinet Office and Civil Service Governance. They will review your complaint in relation to the recruitment process and issue you with a response within 20 working days.
Our commitment to a fair process
We take all complaints seriously and are committed to investigating them with care and professionalism. To ensure fairness to all candidates and the integrity of our process, we ask that all communications remain courteous and respectful.
Any behaviour that is considered abusive, threatening, harassing or intentionally disruptive to the appointment process will be managed in accordance with our internal policies and procedures. This is to ensure a safe and professional environment for everyone involved.
This notice sets out how we will use your personal data, and your rights. It is made under Articles 13 and/or 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Purpose
Our purposes for processing your personal data are:
to recruit for public appointments for the Cabinet Office or one of its sponsored bodies including dealing with applications, selection, appointment, and vetting
to monitor and promote diversity in appointments, and
to produce statistics
The data
We will process the following personal data: your application, including name, contact details, location, employment history, qualifications, CV and other background information relevant to your application; sift and interview assessments; and conflicts of interest and political activity.
Diversity data will also be requested if you make an application via the Public Appointments Website, although you may decline to provide this if you wish. This includes age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, recorded disability, and faith.
We may also process other information gathered by the Cabinet Office as part of due diligence, including information obtained from public sources including social media.
Information relating to your nationality, address, family history and criminal convictions may be required in order to enable you to hold the necessary security clearance for your new role.
Lawful basis
Our legal basis for receiving and using your information is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. In this case that is to ensure that high quality candidates are identified via robust recruitment processes in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointment published pursuant to Article 3(1) of the Public Appointments Order in Council 2016. We also have a public task to monitor and promote diversity under our public sector equality duty.
Where a contract of employment exists, we also process your data on the legal basis that it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, and it is necessary in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.
Sensitive personal data is personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation.
We may process this data to make reasonable adjustments for applicants, and to conduct due diligence checks. Our lawful basis for processing your sensitive personal data is:
It is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising our obligations or rights as the controller, or your obligations or rights as the data subject, under employment law, social security law or the law relating to social protection (reasonable adjustments)
processing is of data concerning ethnicity, religious or philosophical belief, health including disability or sexual orientation, it is necessary for the purposes of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment between groups of people with a view to enabling such equality to be promoted or maintained (diversity monitoring)
processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department (diversity monitoring and due diligence)
It relates to personal data which are manifestly made public by you (due diligence)
Recipients
Information that you supply to the Cabinet Office as part of your application for a Public Appointment may be shared with members of the Advisory Assessment Panel for the purposes of sifting applications and conducting interviews. This may include your name, employment history, qualifications, CV and other background information relevant to your application including sift and interview assessments, conflicts of interest, and political activity. This may also include other information gathered by Departments as part of due diligence, including information obtained from public sources.
Diversity and other data will be shared with the Commissioner of Public Appointments (OCPA) for the exercise of their statutory functions. This may include age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, recorded disability, faith and geographical location, principal employment sector, number of government public appointments held, and declarable political activity. Your name will not be included in the information that is collected and shared with OCPA. You can see how OCPA handles personal data shared with it in its privacy notice.
As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will also be shared with our data processors who provide email, and document management and storage services.
Retention
Cabinet Office will store your application and other data if you are successful for the duration of your appointment and for 2 years thereafter.
Cabinet Office will hold diversity data shared with OCPA in identifiable form for five years.
If your application is unsuccessful we will retain your data for one year.
International transfers
As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure, and shared with our data processors, it may be transferred and stored securely outside the European Union. Where that is the case it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through the use of Model Contract Clauses or the Privacy Shield scheme.
Your Rights
You have the right to request information about how your personal data are processed, and to request a copy of that personal data.
You have the right to request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay.
You have the right to request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement.
You have the right to request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed.
You have the right in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted.
You may have the right to request a copy of any personal data you have provided, and for this to be provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.
Complaints
If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, or 0303 123 1113, or casework@ico.org.uk.
Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.Contact details
The data controller for your personal data is the Cabinet Office.
In relation to equality and diversity data, the Cabinet Office and the Office for the Commissioner of Public Appointments are joint data controllers. The contact details for the Cabinet Office are: Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall, London SW1A 2AS, or 0207 276 1234, or publicappointments@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
The contact details for the Cabinet Office’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) are: Stephen Jones, DPO, Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall, London SW1A 2AS, or dpo@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
The Data Protection Officer provides independent advice and monitoring of Cabinet Office’s use of personal information.