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Written question asked by Lord Ouseley (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Andrews (Labour) on Thursday, 6 November 2008.

Housing Associations: Appointments

Question
Whether the Housing Corporation considered appointing any black and minority-ethnic individuals as statutory board members of the black and minority-ethnic-led Presentation Housing Association; and what are the ethnicity and gender of those recent statutory appointments made by the corporation.
Answer

The Housing Corporation appoints individuals to the governing body of an association having assessed the knowledge, skills and expertise required to address the underlying concerns in the particular case. The persons chosen also have to possess the interpersonal skills necessary to operate effectively at board level and to represent the association at the highest level in its dealings with other bodies. The corporation often appoints people who have direct and current experience of the work of the sector, mainly at board or executive levels. However, such experience is not a prerequisite for serving as an appointee and a number of successful appointments have come from the business world at large. The corporation has recently established a pool of expert individuals who will be available to act as statutory appointees in the future. The corporation has made 110 appointments to the governing bodies of housing associations during the last five years. Appointees do not represent any particular interests and, like other board members, have a prime duty to act in the best interests of the association. The ethnic background of the persons to be appointed is not a prime consideration. The corporation has not asked appointees to provide statements on their ethnicity over the past five years. The corporation made the appointments to the board of Presentation Housing Association having assessed the knowledge, skills and expertise required to address its underlying concerns about the association. It did not ask the appointees to provide statements on their ethnicity or gender.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
6012; 705 c82-3WA
Session
2007-08
Related items
Housing Associations: Appointments
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Governing bodies Gender Housing associations Ethnic groups Housing Corporation Public appointments Minority groups Presentation Housing Association
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk