Guidance

Chair appraisals: principles and resources for arm's-length bodies and sponsoring departments

Published 11 April 2022

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/arms-length-body-boards-guidance-on-reviews-and-appraisals/chair-appraisals-principles-and-resources-for-arms-length-bodies-and-sponsoring-departments

ALB chair appraisal principles

The overarching principles that should underpin the appraisal process for an ALB chair are that appraisal:

  • Should focus on the strategic contribution of the chair to the ALB and be evidence-based. The level of involvement and rigour should be proportionate to the role, their experience and tenure in post;
  • Should focus both on outcomes and behaviours; and
  • Should recommend areas for development to support a culture of continuous improvement.

Detailed principles on the process are as follows.

Preparation, including ‘who’ is responsible for delivery

The senior sponsor[footnote 1] (a Senior Civil Servant) must set expectations and objectives for the chair, which may have been set via:

  • i) a chair’s letter from the sponsoring department
  • ii) through agreed strategy or legislation
  • iii) an agreement with the senior sponsor.

The senior sponsor or, if the ALB has one, the Senior Independent Director (SID) should undertake the preparation for the annual appraisal of the chair. They should gather feedback from:

  • The wider board, in particular the CEO on subjects including:
    • leadership
    • governance
    • board dynamics
    • strategy
    • stakeholder engagement
    • financial management
  • The sponsoring team or secretariat;
  • The board effectiveness review;
  • Ministers;
  • Other relevant government stakeholders.

The chair should self assess against their objectives. They should seek feedback from stakeholders.

For government owned companies the shareholder retains responsibility for the overall evaluation of the chair. In this instance, the SID should lead the appraisal of the chair’s performance.

Frequency

The senior sponsor must ensure chair appraisals take place annually.

Content

The appraisal meeting should include:

  • The chair (should undertake self-assessment)
  • The senior sponsor or SID

The senior sponsor or SID should provide feedback collated before the meeting. This may include:

  • How the chair has met expectations and objectives set via i) a chair’s letter from the sponsoring department ii) through agreed strategy or legislation iii) an agreement with the senior sponsor;
  • The board’s performance overall and that of individual members;
  • Reflections on the performance of the Chief Executive;
  • How the chair has led the board and the culture the chair has engendered;
  • How the chair has appropriately considered whether the ALB’s policies and actions support Ministers’ strategic aims;
  • How the chair has harnessed the benefits of a diverse board;
  • How the chair has supported the CEO/AO to meet their requirements set out in Managing Public Money and whether the chair has had regard to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies;
  • The quality of the relationships with the sponsoring Minister and the senior sponsor, the Chief Executive, Parliament, members of the board and other relevant stakeholders;
  • The board’s approach to succession planning to ensure that the board can meet its diversity and skills needs; and
  • Confirm any next steps agreed, including any development needs and undertake a forward look.

This guidance recognises that the appraisal process, including information gathering and the appraisal meeting, for the chair may vary between organisations and may be led by the board or the sponsor department. It is important whatever the process that it is clear and that the board and the sponsor contribute to the process.

Post-appraisal activities

The senior sponsor must:

  • Keep a written record of the appraisal.
  • Make the outcome of the evaluation available to the Responsible Minister, the PAO and the senior sponsor.
  • Ensure, as is set out in the Governance Code for Public Appointments, “No reappointment or extension being made without a satisfactory performance appraisal, evidence of which must be made available to the Commissioner on request”. This will form a key part of wider consideration by Ministers on potential reappointment.

  1. In the case of government owned companies the practice is for the shareholder to retain responsibility for the overall evaluation of the chair. ↩

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