The Impact of the Committee on Standards in Public Life on Delegated Governance: The Commissioner for Public Appointments

摘要

The sphere of delegated governance has grown increasingly vast over recent decades. However, the existence of delegated governance organisations in the British state is at odds with the traditional notion of representative democracy. A central tension concerns ministerial patronage. Accusations of ministerial bias and lack of transparency have damaged the perceived democratic legitimacy of delegated organisations. The Nolan Committee’s First Report on Standards in Public Life sought to examine such concerns over standards in public office. This article assesses the impact of the Committee for Standards in Public Life’s recommendations regarding public appointments. It argues that the recommendations and the consequent creation of the Commissioner for Public Appointments have been instrumental in improving the public appointments system in the UK; however, the overriding logic of the Westminster model, as perceived by central government, has prevented the further enhancement of the legitimacy of ministerial appointments.