Arrangements for recruitment of Specialist Advisers

Following its appointment after the General Election, the Health Committee is seeking to improve the way in which it identifies specialist advisers to assist in its work.

Specialist advisers perform an invaluable task for select committees. The role of an adviser is formally ‘to supply information which is not readily available or to elucidate matters of complexity within the committee’s order of reference’. In practice, this usually means explaining policy and practice and helping to interpret the evidence gathered during inquiries. Advisers may be appointed to help a committee on a particular inquiry or to advise on a particular policy issue over a longer period. Advisers are paid only for the days on which they do work for a committee. There are currently three daily rates, depending on levels of experience and knowledge.

The new Health Committee is anxious to ensure that the process by which these appointments are made is more open than has previously been the case.

The Committee is therefore seeking to appoint an adviser who would act as a “talent scout” in its search for the most appropriate people to provide it with policy advice. The Committee’s objective is to secure advice from people who are well-informed and active in the health field but do not necessarily have a public profile and who might not otherwise come to the Committee’s attention. People who have previously advised the Committee are welcome to apply.

Anyone who is interested in taking on this role is asked to set out in a statement of no more than 750 words why they consider they would be an appropriate candidate and to send that statement, along with a copy their CV, to the Health Committee at healthcom@parliament.uk by noon on Monday 6 September 2010. The Committee expects to hold interviews for those shortlisted shortly after that date.

If you have any questions please contact David Lloyd, the Clerk of the Committee, on 020 7219 6244 or at lloyddr@parliament.uk.