Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee — hearing of 24 June 2026: transcript & video

00:02 - 01:52

Speaker 1

Order, order. Well, good morning colleagues and a warm welcome, both literally and metaphorically, to Miss Cannon, who joins us for the most challenging bit, Miss Cannon, of this process, which is the pre-appointment hearing, as you are the government's preferred candidate to be the new Commissioner for Public Appointments. So let us start by congratulating you on getting this far in the process, and we are your final, final hurdle. We are your sort of Becher's Brook, as it were. So hopefully you will sail over it with flying colors.

And I'm conscious of the heat and the temperature, so we are not bombarded by the sartorial police who may be watching this edition of PACAC. I have used my chair's discretion to allow gentlemen to remove both ties and coats if they so wish. And you will see that three of my colleagues have done just that. Some of us who believe in tradition and standards have, of course, not. But there we are.

Just call me old-fashioned if you will. But Miss Cannon, let's start with some questions if we may. It's an interesting appointment, public appointments, incredibly important to the delivery of good governance and the maintenance of standards and the confidence that the public requires, and indeed Parliament requires, when it comes to public appointments. So what attracted you to the role and why you to fulfill it?

01:52 - 02:46

Speaker 2

So I think, so first of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here today. So I think I would say first of all, I believe really strongly in the need for a trusted and robust public appointments process, given that public bodies make decisions which impact all of our lives. And as a citizen, I want to make sure that we have the best people in those roles in order to deliver the best and most effective use of public money. My career has focused on leading change in large and complex organizations with a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion. And so when I saw this role advertised, actually I felt like there was a real match in terms of the skills and experience that I could bring in order to support and make a difference in this space, and to really build on the very good work that's already been done to deliver a robust public appointments process.

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