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Letter from the Commissioner for Public Appointments to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport

Thursday 6 November 2025

The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross CVO, has written to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, regarding his inquiry into the appointment of the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. A copy of the letter can be found here.

Press Notice: Decision Notice following the inquiry into the appointment of the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator has been published

Thursday 6 November 2025

The independent Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross CVO, has today published the report of his inquiry into the process of appointing the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. The report considers whether the appointment process, managed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, was in line with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code […]

Letter from the Commissioner for Public Appointments to the Director of Propriety & Ethics regarding the new Governance Code on Public Appointments, 30 October 2025

Thursday 30 October 2025

The Commissioner has written to the Director of Propriety & Ethics regarding the new Governance Code on Public Appointments, published on 30 October 2025.

Letter from the Commissioner for Public Appointments to the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 15 May 2025

Friday 30 May 2025

The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross CVO, has written to Susannah Storey, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, regarding his decision to commence ‘spot checks’ into the campaign for the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator.

Letter from the Commissioner for Public Appointments to the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 29 May 2025

Friday 30 May 2025

The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross CVO, has written to Susannah Storey, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regarding the outcome of the ‘spot checks’ into the campaign for the Chair of Independent Football Regulator that commenced on 15 May 2025.

Letter to the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 21 May 2025

Thursday 22 May 2025

The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross CVO, has sent a letter to the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart MP, in response to his letter dated 5 May 2025.

From “tap on the shoulder” to transparency – 30 years of public appointments

Tuesday 13 May 2025

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Nolan Principles, the Committee on Standards in Public Life is publishing a new series of blogs about the work of a range of standards bodies in England. Their fifth blog is from Sir William Shawcross CVO, the Commissioner for Public Appointments. A major focus of the first report from the […]

Press Notice – The inquiry into the appointment process for the Chair of the BBC Board, by Adam Heppinstall KC, has been published

Friday 28 April 2023

The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments has published its decision notice on the inquiry into the appointment process for the Chair of the BBC Board, by Adam Heppinstall KC.  (PDF, 25 pages, 399KB). Read the press notice here (PDF, 2 pages, 130KB)

Letter to Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Monday 30 January 2023

The Commissioner for Public Appointments wrote to the Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee regarding the investigation into the appointment of the BBC Chair. William Shawcross to Rt Hon Damian Green MP.

Letter to Committee on Standards in Public Life

Thursday 12 January 2023

The Commissioner for Public Appointments wrote to Lord Jonathan Evans following meeting with the Committee on Standards in Public Life in November 2022, to follow up on matters discussed at that meeting. William Shawcross to The Lord Evans of Weardale KCB DL (PDF, 3 pages, 638 KB)