Length of tenure

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.

A fundamental principle of the Governance Code on Public Appointments is ministerial responsibility – that ministers are accountable to Parliament for appointments and, therefore, the selection of those holding these public roles must be their responsibility too.

Under the Governance Code, ministers also decide the period for which an individual may serve in a given role – subject, of course, to any statutory provisions relating to specific roles.

The Code is clear, though, that individuals should not generally serve more than two consecutive terms or serve in any one post for more than ten years. This 10-year limit is a vital safeguard for public trust. It ensures that public bodies are periodically opened up to new leadership. The benefits of continuity and experience, therefore, are balanced with the need for regular renewal. 

The Code does allow for flexibility in exceptional circumstances. A minister may decide that an individual’s specific skills or expertise are required beyond the standard ten-year tenure. This might occur during a major period of institutional reform or a sudden crisis where stability is paramount. 

However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments acts as the essential check on these extensions. Ministers must notify the Commissioner of any reappointment or extension beyond the ten-year mark before it is publicly announced. This allows the Commissioner to provide independent assurance that the rules are being followed and that the ‘merit’ principle remains at the heart of appointment decisions.

In 2024-25, the Commissioner was notified 41 times of a ministerial decision to extend an individual in post beyond a period of two terms or ten years. A list of these notifications was published on pp. 59-61 of the Commissioner’s annual report for that year.