Whether it will publish a copy of any letter that it sent to organisations in order to request nominations for the 12 new Independent Asses…

The following is a copy of the letter issued on 27 June 2001:Dear Sir/MadamINDEPENDENT ASSESSOR POSTS TO OVERSEE THE PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS PROCESS IN SCOTLANDI am writing to seek your assistance in identifying individuals who might be considered for appointment as Independent Assessors for Public Appointments. I am also writing in similar terms to a wide range of groups and organisations throughout Scotland seeking nominations for consideration for appointment (the list at Annex A refers). It is anticipated that up to 10 appointments will be made in total from across the diverse range of Scottish society.The role of the Independent Assessor is to assist Scottish Ministers in the task of making effective public appointments that command public confidence and to provide an assurance that the appointment process has conformed with the principles and practices set out in the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Details of the 7 principles contained in the Commissioner's Code are attached at Annex B for ease of reference. In short, an Assessor has to be able to provide an assurance that appointments have been made on merit after fair, open and transparent process.As you will be aware, in his statement to Parliament on proposed changes to public bodies and the public appointments system in Scotland on 21 June, the Minister for Finance and Local Government announced that in the future responsibility for the appointment and training of Independent Assessors would transfer to a new Scottish Commissioner for Public Appointments. However, until formal arrangements are in place to implement all the proposed changes we need to have sufficient numbers of Assessors in place to ensure that the current system continues to function.Ten of the Executive's 25 Assessors are due to stand down on 30 June. Ministers have agreed that 10 new Assessors are needed to ensure that the appointments system continues to operate effectively during the period of transition ahead. The Executive is keen to ensure that these new appointments should reflect the diversity of modern Scottish society and that is why I would like to enlist your help in identifying possible candidates to carry out this role during the transition period. Thereafter it would be for the Scottish Commissioner to decide whether or not to retain the services of these Assessors.I hope that you will be able to assist by providing names of potential candidates for these posts. If you would like further information, a job description, person specification and application form please contact:The Scottish ExecutivePublic Appointments UnitRoom 31816 Waterloo Place EDINBURGHEH1 3DNTele: 0131-244-4999, or, 0131-244-4996Fax: 0131-244-5077Email: public.appointments@scotland.gsi.gov.ukWebsite: www.scotland.gov.uk/government/publicappointI look forward to hearing from you by 10 July 2001.ANNEX AINDEPENDENT ASSESSOR POSTS: LIST OF ORGANISATIONS CONSULTEDAberdeen Women's CentreAfrican Caribbean Women's Association, GlasgowAfrican Women's Group, AberdeenAge Concern ScotlandAsian Action Group, DundeeAssociation of Indian OrganisationsBAHA'I Council for Scotland, Bridge of WeirBlack and Ethnic Minority Voluntary Network, GlasgowBlack Environment NetworkCabinet OfficeCBI ScotlandCentral Scotland Racial Equality CouncilCentre for Managing Diversity
- University of PaisleyCentre for Racial Equality in ScotlandCitizens Advice ScotlandClackmannanshire CouncilConvention of Scottish Local AuthoritiesCouncil of British Pakistanis (Scotland)Dennis Canovan MSPDisability Rights CommissionDisability Service Team
- Edinburgh and South East ScotlandDisability Service Team
- Highlands, Islands and GrampiansDisability Service Team, Central ScotlandDisability Scotl