Code of Practice
The Act which created the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland required the Commissioner to prepare and publish a Code of Practice. The Code, published in April 2006, regulates the process used by the Scottish Government to make public appointments to specified public bodies. A revised Code, published in April 2011, came into force on 01 September 2011. The code used for a given appointment round will be dependent, for a short period, on the date that we appointed an assessor to oversee an appointment round.
Both codes include clear guidelines on the practices that must be followed by the Scottish Government to ensure that appointments are made fairly and openly.
The Commissioner has also produced detailed guidance to assist the Scottish Government to comply with the Codes. Both codes and guidance can be downloaded from the links provided below.
Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments April 2006 (402 KB PDF File)
Guidance on the Code of Practice April 2006 (254 KB PDF File)
Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments September 2011 (370 KB PDF File)
Handbook of guidance on the revised Code September 2011 (395 KB PDF File)
The Commissioner has issued detailed guidance that should be read in conjunction with the 2006 Code
The following statutory guidance applies to the 2011 Code:
Principles underpinning the 2006 Code of Practice
The Code’s Principles
- Ministerial Responsibility
- Merit
- Equality
- Probity and Respect
- Independent Scrutiny
- Openness and Transparency
- Proportionality
Principles underpinning the 2011 Code of Practice
- Outcome focused
- Applicant focused
- Appropriate