Press release

Appointments to the First Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments

Her Majesty The Queen has approved the appointment of Sir David Normington to the dual role of First Civil Service Commissioner.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Her Majesty The Queen has approved the appointment of Sir David Normington to the dual role of First Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments. Sir David will take up the appointment on 1 April 2011.

In accordance with the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, and with The Queen’s approval, Mark Addison, a serving Civil Service Commissioner, has been appointed to undertake the dual role on an interim basis from 1 January to 31 March 2011.

The terms of appointment of Dame Janet Paraskeva, the First Civil Service Commissioner, and Dame Janet Gaymer, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, both come to an end on 31 December 2010.  The government wishes to thank both individuals for their outstanding contribution and commitment to public life in the way they have undertaken their responsibilities over the past five years.

Notes to editors

The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission who regulate appointments to the Civil Service. The Commissioner for Public Appointments regulates ministerial appointments to the boards of public bodies.  Under the dual role, the two separate appointments’ processes for the Civil Service and public appointments will be retained, but the combined role will be used to achieve synergies and efficiencies between the two.

Sir David Normington has been the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office since 2006, and was previously the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education from 2001-2005.  He will retire from the Civil Service at the end of this year.  Sir David will follow the principles of the Business Appointment Rules and take a 3 month break from public service before taking up the appointment on 1 April 2011. 

Mark Addison has been a Civil Service Commissioner since 2007.

An open recruitment exercise was held for the dual role appointment which was conducted in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles and procedures. 

The appointment is subject to pre-appointment scrutiny. The Public Administration Select Committee held a pre-appointment hearing with Sir David on 16 November.

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Published 21 December 2010