Timeline April 2009 - March 2010

  • April 09
    • Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles come into effect
    • The Commissioners’ first audit under the Civil Service Code begins with self-assessment questionnaires sent to departments and agencies
    • First Civil Service Commissioner meets with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to compare approaches to complaint handling
    • Commissioners submit written response to the Public Administration Select Committee enquiry into outside appointments to the Senior Civil Service
  • May 09
    • Meeting in London with Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners and their staff to discuss common issues around ethical regulation and hearing appeals
    • Work begins on the inclusion of questions on the Civil Service Code in the Civil Service wide staff survey to be completed later in the year
    • Commissioners’ staff give briefing presentations to human resources practitioners on the new Recruitment Principles
  • June 09
    • Pilot exercise for the new Compliance Monitoring approach begins with the involvement of 21 volunteer departments and agencies
    • Initial results of the audit under the Civil Service Code are received by the Commissioners
    • Visit from the Director General of the Regional Civil Service Development Institute of Taiwan to discuss ethical codes and senior recruitment
    • Study visit from University of Sydney for a comparative study of Civil Service recruitment in UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
  • July 09
    • Commissioners’ Annual Report for 2008-09 published on-line
    • Annual Report contains the results and initial comment on the results of the audit under the Civil Service Code
    • Commissioners produce a ‘Question Time on Civil Service Values’ at each of the three days of the Civil Service Live event at Olympia
    • Publication of the Public Administration Select Committee’s report into Leaks and Whistleblowing in Whitehall
    • Visit from the Chairman and Assistant Secretary of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission
    • First Civil Service Commissioner meets the General Counsel of the Public Sector Integrity Commission of Canada
  • August 09
    • Commissioners’ staff deliver further presentations to human resources practitioners on the new Recruitment Principles
    • Completion of the first stage of the new Compliance Monitoring pilot
  • September 09
    • Commissioners submit written evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body
    • Focus group for feedback from participating departments in the Compliance Monitoring pilot
    • Visit from the State Minister for Reform from Ethiopia
  • October 09
    • Commissioners’ staff give presentations on the Recruitment Principles at a Civil Service recruitment event organised by the Cabinet Office
    • Second reading in the House of Commons of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill
    • The first Civil Service–wide staff survey is conducted; the survey contains three questions on the Civil Service Code
  • November 09
    • Commissioners sponsor the Cabinet Secretary’s Award at the Civil Service Awards at the Banqueting Hall, Whitehall; joint presentations to the winners by the First Civil Service Commissioner and the Cabinet Secretary
    • First Civil Service Commissioner gives oral evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body
    • Launch of open competition to appoint three new Civil Service Commissioners
    • Visit by a study group on public service recruitment from the examination board of Taiwan
    • Visit by representatives of various National Public Service Commissions under the auspices of Public Administration International
  • December 09
    • Commissioners publish three new guides on their procedures and processes for hearing appeals under the Civil Service Code
    • Commissioners produce a ‘Question Time on Civil Service Values’ at the Civil Service Live event in Manchester
    • The First Civil Service Commissioner and the Cabinet Secretary launch a Civil Service Art Competition for civil servants to produce art work that illustrates the Civil Service values
  • January 10
    • The Commissioners launch the first assessment round under the revised Compliance Monitoring regime
    • Results from the Civil Service-wide staff survey are received
    • Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill continues its progress through the Committee stage in the House of Commons
    • Commissioners’ staff visit HMRC in Manchester to learn more about their approach to handling concerns under the Civil Service Code
  • February 10
    • Commissioners’ staff give a seminar for human resources staff of the Welsh Assembly Government on the Recruitment Principles
    • Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill completes the committee stage in the House of Commons
  • March 10
    • Civil Service Commissioners meet with the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners in London to discuss current topics of mutual interest
    • The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh host a reception for the Civil Service Commissioners and the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners at Buckingham Palace
    • Three new Commissioners appointed by the Queen by Order in Council: Eliza Hermann, Peter Blausten and Adele Biss. Their five year term of office to commence on 1 April 2010
    • The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act goes through the report stage and third reading in the House of Commons and first and second reading in the House of Lords
    • Visit from Commissioners from the Public Service Commission of The Gambia
    • The Commissioners’ staff give a presentation to Political Science post-graduates in the University of Birmingham
    • Barry Forrester, Principal Policy Adviser (Recruitment) to the Commissioners retires after a long and successful career in the Civil Service, the last nine years working in the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners
    • Alexandra Burslem, Mary Jo Jacobi, John MacAuslan. Liz McMeikan and Stella Pantiledes complete their five year terms as Civil Service Commissioners
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