In This Section

We're Keen to Talk

We're Passionate About Public Appointments.

Karen Carlton is passionate about her role as the Commissioner. Her first task was to publish and have adopted a Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland. The draft Code was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 19 May 2005, starting a nationwide consultation that ended in September 2005. The Code came into force on 01 April 2006.

Karen is equally passionate about the value of people who hold public appointments and their contribution to the quality of life in Scotland. She is working to find ways to encourage a much wider group of Scottish citizens to contribute to the well-being of the nation through a commitment to public appointments and, through these appointments, to public life. This ambition is embodied in a strategy entitled Diversity Delivers published on 01 September 2008. You can read about the consultation that led to the development of the strategy on our news archive page.

Commissioner's letter to the Herald newspaper

18 February 2010

The Commissioner wrote to the editor of the Herald newspaper today further to an article published on 16 February. The Commissioner's full response to the article can downloaded here.

Commissioner gives evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

19 January 2010

The Commissioner gave evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee of the Scottish Parliament on 19 January 2010. The Commissioner spoke to two reports. These were her latest annual report and her report on stakeholder appointments to health boards.

During the evidence session the Commissioner made reference to the board membership of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA):

"Women tell me that if they go to the website of an organisation such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and look at the make-up of the board, they find that it consists of 12 august males."

This off-the-cuff remark led the Deputy Chair, Lesley Bloomer, and the Chair of SEPA to write to the Commissioner to point out that four of the body's ten board members are women.

The Commissioner has apologised to the Chair and Deputy Chair for the remark and has arranged for the correspondence to be posted to this website. The Commissioner has also written to the Clerk to the Committee and asked for her letter of apology to be published. The relevant correspondence can be downloaded from these links:

Letter from the Deputy Chair of SEPA

Letter of response from the Commissioner

Take your seat on the board

OCPAS, in partnership with the Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, is running a series of seminars to encourage women working in science, engineering, technology and the built environment sectors to apply for public appointments.

The latest seminar will take place on

Thursday 18 March 2010

from

12.00 to 14.30

ITI Energy , 62 Market Street, Aberdeen, AB11 5PJ

If you'd like to come along please register here.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GFQPZKD

These seminars are part of our strategy to increase the diversity of people applying for and getting posts on the boards of our public bodies. At the seminar attendees will find out more about what would be involved in being a board member and how appointments are made, as well as getting some practical advice on how to present an application.

More information about the event is available here or contact Karen Elder on 0131 718 6268 or karen.elder@publicappointments.org.

More seminars will take place in 2010:

TBC 2010 Glasgow

TBC 2010 Edinburgh

Previous seminars:

Friday 4 December 2009 12.30-15.00 Inverness

Monday 26 October 2009 16.30-18.30 Glasgow

Wednesday 27 January 2010 16.15-18.30 Edinburgh

New one day courses on public appointments

Ocotber 2009

The Commissioner for Public Appointments, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission and Queen Margaret University are working together to increase the number of people who apply for board positions with our public bodies.

One of the recommendations from Diversity Delivers is the provision of an education programme for members of the public explaining the work of public bodies. The pilot of the education programme starts on Wednesday 25 November 2009 with the first free one day course.

You can book a place and find out more about the course, and the others planned for 2010, by visiting the diversity page on our website.

Diversity Delivers - One Year On

03 September 2009

Diversity Delivers - One Year On is a conference for senior civil servants and the chairs of public bodies. The conference looks at the progress made by the Scottish Government in the first year of implementation of the Commissioner's Equal Opportunities strategy, Diversity Delivers.

The conference also provided training and workshops for attendees on subjects ranging from "What's new in diversity training" to "Managing the media effectively".

The keynote address, given by Helen Alexander CBE, the president of the CBI, was entitled, "Why diversity on a board is so important".

You can find out more about the conference by visiting the diversity page on our website.

Commissioner reappointed for a second term

28 May 2009

The Scottish Parliament has nominated Karen Carlton to Her Majesty The Queen for reappointment for a second term as the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland. The Commissioner's second term of appointment will run from three years to 31 May 2012.

In This Section	We're Keen to Talk
Recent News News Archive Press Contacts	Karen Carlton is passionate about her role as the Commissioner. Her first task was to publish and have adopted a Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland. The draft Code was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 19 May 2005, starting a nationwide consultation that ended in September 2005. The Code came into force on 01 April 2006. Karen is equally passionate about the value of people who hold public appointments and their contribution to the quality of life in Scotland. She is working to find ways to encourage a much wider group of Scottish citizens to contribute to the well-being of the nation through a commitment to public appointments and, through these appointments, to public life. This ambition is embodied in a strategy entitled Diversity Delivers published on 01 September 2008. You can read about the consultation that led to the development of the strategy on our news archive page.
	Commissioner's letter to the Herald newspaper 18 February 2010 The Commissioner wrote to the editor of the Herald newspaper today further to an article published on 16 February. The Commissioner's full response to the article can downloaded here.
	Commissioner gives evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee 19 January 2010 The Commissioner gave evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee of the Scottish Parliament on 19 January 2010. The Commissioner spoke to two reports. These were her latest annual report and her report on stakeholder appointments to health boards. During the evidence session the Commissioner made reference to the board membership of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA): "Women tell me that if they go to the website of an organisation such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and look at the make-up of the board, they find that it consists of 12 august males." This off-the-cuff remark led the Deputy Chair, Lesley Bloomer, and the Chair of SEPA to write to the Commissioner to point out that four of the body's ten board members are women. The Commissioner has apologised to the Chair and Deputy Chair for the remark and has arranged for the correspondence to be posted to this website. The Commissioner has also written to the Clerk to the Committee and asked for her letter of apology to be published. The relevant correspondence can be downloaded from these links: Letter from the Deputy Chair of SEPA Letter of response from the Commissioner
	Take your seat on the board OCPAS, in partnership with the Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, is running a series of seminars to encourage women working in science, engineering, technology and the built environment sectors to apply for public appointments. The latest seminar will take place on Thursday 18 March 2010 from 12.00 to 14.30 at ITI Energy , 62 Market Street, Aberdeen, AB11 5PJ If you'd like to come along please register here. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GFQPZKD These seminars are part of our strategy to increase the diversity of people applying for and getting posts on the boards of our public bodies. At the seminar attendees will find out more about what would be involved in being a board member and how appointments are made, as well as getting some practical advice on how to present an application. More information about the event is available here or contact Karen Elder on 0131 718 6268 or karen.elder@publicappointments.org. More seminars will take place in 2010: TBC 2010 Glasgow TBC 2010 Edinburgh Previous seminars: Friday 4 December 2009 12.30-15.00 Inverness Monday 26 October 2009 16.30-18.30 Glasgow Wednesday 27 January 2010 16.15-18.30 Edinburgh
	New one day courses on public appointments Ocotber 2009 The Commissioner for Public Appointments, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission and Queen Margaret University are working together to increase the number of people who apply for board positions with our public bodies. One of the recommendations from Diversity Delivers is the provision of an education programme for members of the public explaining the work of public bodies. The pilot of the education programme starts on Wednesday 25 November 2009 with the first free one day course. You can book a place and find out more about the course, and the others planned for 2010, by visiting the diversity page on our website.
	Diversity Delivers - One Year On 03 September 2009 Diversity Delivers - One Year On is a conference for senior civil servants and the chairs of public bodies. The conference looks at the progress made by the Scottish Government in the first year of implementation of the Commissioner's Equal Opportunities strategy, Diversity Delivers. The conference also provided training and workshops for attendees on subjects ranging from "What's new in diversity training" to "Managing the media effectively". The keynote address, given by Helen Alexander CBE, the president of the CBI, was entitled, "Why diversity on a board is so important". You can find out more about the conference by visiting the diversity page on our website.
	Commissioner reappointed for a second term 28 May 2009 The Scottish Parliament has nominated Karen Carlton to Her Majesty The Queen for reappointment for a second term as the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland. The Commissioner's second term of appointment will run from three years to 31 May 2012.