Appointments without competition

Blog post by Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments

Tuesday 26 May 2026

This new series of blogs from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments explains the process by which ministers make appointments to our most important institutions – and the Commissioner’s role in providing assurance that the best people are appointed to these roles.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments has an important role in safeguarding the integrity of the public appointments process. The Commissioner routinely considers cases from ministers consulting him on their decisions.

Fair and open competition, with appointment made on the basis of merit, are the principles that should underpin public appointments. These competitions ensure that the widest range of candidates is sought and they provide the minister with robust, valuable advice before he or she makes the final choice.

Sometimes, however, an unplanned vacancy may arise – due to illness of an office-holder, for example, or because normal, open recruitment is ongoing when a previous appointee departs. In such circumstances, a minister may decide that leaving the position unfilled creates unacceptable risk for the government and may therefore judge that it is necessary to make an appointment without a full competition

Such appointments should be for as short a period as possible and should be subject to independent scrutiny.

The Commissioner, through the Governance Code on Public Appointments, acts as the independent check on such decisions, ensuring they are not overused in a manner that could damage public trust in appointments processes. Scrutiny is essential to ensure that this approach’ is used only when genuinely exceptional circumstances demand it. The key challenge lies in balancing speed and necessity with the foundational principles of fairness and openness.

The list of appointments made without competition are published on a dedicated page on the Commissioner’s website. The list sets out the body and role to which the appointment was made, as well as the length of the appointment and its rationale.