Chamber and committees

The following criteria were used to select candidates for interview and to determine their suitability for appointment. Copies of the criteria were provided to all applicants in advance of their application.

Core criteria were that candidates must:

• have management experience at a senior or board-equivalent level in the voluntary, public or private sectors
• demonstrate leadership and motivation skills
• demonstrate the ability to see the "bigger picture"
• demonstrate the ability to think and plan ahead
• demonstrate the ability to understand complicated issues
• demonstrate the ability to work as part of a team
• be an effective communicator at all levels with good listening and interpersonal skills
• be able to take decisions on a collective basis
• be confident and willing to challenge and test proposals on which the board must decide
• demonstrate a strong personal commitment to the NHS
• demonstrate an understanding of, and interest in, government health policies
• be committed to engaging positively and openly with key partners and the public
• be committed to the idea of public service accountability, honesty, openness and equality of treatment and opportunity
• be able to spend around three days per week as Chair on the work of the board

Desirable criteria were that candidates would have:

• experience in serving in the voluntary sector, particularly in an organisation with links to the health sector
• experience of other countries' approach to health education and improvement
• specialist skills or knowledge relevant to HEBS

Candidates were short-listed for interview by Trevor Jones (Chief Executive, NHS Scotland), Ken Thomson (Head of Health Improvement Strategy Division, Scottish Executive Health Department) and Alistair Dempster (Independent Assessor).

Those interviewed were invited to prepare a four minute presentation on "Making Health Improvement a Reality". The presentations were delivered at interview.

The interviews were conducted by those who selected the short-list

As part of her induction as an independent assessor, Anne McLean attended the interviews as an observer but took no part in the interview process.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18191.

As set out in the information provided to all applicants, the chairperson of the Health Education Board for Scotland has the following personal responsibilities:

• providing leadership to the board
• working with other board members to ensure that the board accepts collective responsibility for discharging its functions which will comprise:

- setting the direction of the organisation within the overall policies and priorities of the Scottish Executive and NHSScotland, defining its annual longer-term objectives and agreeing plans to achieve them

- setting financial targets for the board, monitoring the board's financial performance and deciding on action to meet financial targets

- the appointment, appraisal and remuneration of senior staff

• fully representing the board's activities, in an open and positive way, to:

the public

local authorities

professional and advisory bodies

the media

all other interested parties

• working with other health organisations and the Scottish Executive Health Department to make sure that there is a united approach to putting government health policy into practice
• ensuring that there is an effective dialogue between the board and its key partners on its plans and performance, and that these are responsive to the needs of the public
• developing an effective working relationship with the Chief Executive, other board members and staff of the organisation to fulfil the decisions of the board
• encouraging all board members to work as a team to contribute to the organisation's work
• making sure that all board members are effectively trained and developed and that their performance is formally reviewed on a regular basis
• making sure that all board members follow the Standards of Conduct, Accountability and Openness of NHSScotland
• making sure organisational values and aims are clearly explained, understood and applied throughout the whole organisation
• making sure that the board sets up required committees such as audit and remuneration
• chairing board meetings and meetings of committees of the board, making sure that they discuss the main current issues and policies with the available information to hand, and that they make decisions in an open and responsible way

accountability to Scottish ministers through the Minister for Health and Community Care for the organisation's performance.

The procedures governing the appointment were those set out in The Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies.

This is available from the website at:

http://www.ocpa.gov.uk/leaflets/codeofpractice.pdf

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

The information for 2000-01 is given in the table:

Establishment	Available Capacity	Annual Average Capacity
Aberdeen	155	173
Barlinnie	836	969
Castle Huntly	151	135
Cornton Vale	203	190
Dumfries	110	148
Edinburgh	579	681
Glenochil	489	480
Glenochil YOI	131	129
Greenock	248	269
Inverness	108	126
Kilmarnock	548	521
Low Moss	337	308
Noranside	117	116
Perth	543	420
Peterhead	296	291
Polmont	422	392
Shotts	516	518

The period of appointment is from 1 October 2001 to 30 September 2005.

The following table shows the amount of tuition fees paid by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland to each Scottish Higher Education Institution for the academic years 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

Higher Education Institution	Tuition Fees Paid (£)
	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Aberdeen University	5,409,808	4,469,918	6,007,688
Dundee University	3,677,799	3,165,072	4,044,677
Edinburgh College of Art	652,754	575,330	725,740
Edinburgh University	6,432,803	5,387,640	7,604,141
Glasgow Caledonian University	7,469,667	6,831,982	7,994,697
Glasgow School of Art	774,539	678,166	1,012,510
Glasgow University	10,013,080	8,563,230	11,619,467
Heriot-Watt University	3,064,823	2,588,278	3,627,173
Napier University	5,188,464	4,626,533	5,534,891
Northern College of Education	974,309	914,062	1,056,450
Queen Margaret University College	1,628,912	1,726,915	2,036,144
Robert Gordon University	4,530,095	4,002,332	5,322,560
Royal Scottish Academy for Music and Drama	269,321	250,817	397,460
Scottish Agricultural College	614,884	540,270	678,537
St Andrews University	1,715,211	1,461,476	2,125,539
Stirling University	2,867,077	2,583,480	3,322,790
Strathclyde University	9,521,889	8,527,185	11,506,388
University of Abertay, Dundee	2,421,342	2,362,200	2,932,050
University of Paisley	5,259,072	5,026,941	5,074,709
Total	72,485,849	64,281,827	82,623,611

Note: The figures in the table are not directly comparable. In 1998-99 and in 1999-2000, some fees were means tested. The balance of fee payments was for continuing students. In 2000-01, the agency paid the full tuition fee for all eligible domiciled Scottish Students. This included EU Students.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

The available information is given in table 4 of Prisons Statistics Scotland, 1997; 1998 and 1999 published by the Scottish Executive. Copies of these documents are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 11178, 11179, 11180).

The chairperson is responsible for representing the board's activities in an open and positive way to the public, local authorities, professional and advisory bodies, the media and all other interested parties and for ensuring that there is an effective dialogue between the board and its key partners on its plans and performance, and that these are responsive to the needs of the public.

In line with relevant guidance issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA), all applicants for public appointments are required to declare any interests and to complete a question on their political activity. Neither activity nor affiliation is a criterion for nor a bar to appointment. In line with OCPA guidance, and to ensure openness in the appointments process, details of a successful candidate's political activity and affiliation are given at the time an appointment is announced.

A number of applicants for this post declared political activity, and affiliation and membership of political parties. The successful candidate's political affiliation was included in the announcement of her appointment and her application confirmed that she had no other relevant interests to declare.