Candidate for post of Information Commissioner announced
13 January 2009
Christopher Graham, currently the Director General of the Advertising Standards Authority, has been selected as the preferred candidate to take over as Information Commissioner when Richard Thomas retires from the post in June 2009.
Mr Graham was identified following a rigorous selection process, validated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Today, Tuesday 13 January, Justice Secretary Jack Straw is inviting the Justice Select Committee to hold a pre-appointment hearing and to report on Mr Graham's suitability for the post. This is in line with proposals announced last year to increase democratic scrutiny of key public appointments.
Notes to editors
1. The current Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, retires as Commissioner on 30 June 2009. The Information Commissioner's Office is the UK's independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information.
2. Christopher Graham has been Director General of the Advertising Standards Authority since 2000. He is a Non-Executive Lay Representative on the Bar Standards Board (since 2006) and Non-Executive Director of Electoral Reform Services Ltd (since 2001).
3. The government's proposals for pre-appointment hearings are set out in the Governance of Britain White Paper.
4. Pre-appointment scrutiny hearings enable select committees to take evidence from candidates for certain key public appointments before they are appointed. Hearings are in public and involve the select committee publishing a report setting out their views on the candidate's suitability for the post. Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding but ministers will consider the committee's views before deciding whether to proceed with the appointment.
5. The Governance of Britain White Paper states that pre-appointment hearings should be held for posts that exercise statutory or other powers in relation to protecting the public's rights and interests - as well as for posts that play a role in the regulation and administration of the appointments process itself. The list of posts suitable for pre-appointment hearings is published in the government's Response to the Liaison Committee's First Special Report of Session 2007-08. (Liaison Committee, First Special Report of Session 2007-08, Pre-appointment hearings by select committees: Government Response, HC 594)