Ministers should be stripped of their ability to make the final decision on senior Whitehall appointments, an official watchdog has recommended.

A report published by the committee on standards in public life said reforms to the current system were needed to address growing public concerns over "cronyism".

Under present rules, ministers have the right to choose from a list of candidates at the end of a fair, open and transparent process.

But Dame Rennie Fritchie, the commissioner for public appointments, has warned in the past that in some departments, shortlists have been shown privately to ministers during the appointment process.

Following the spat between the government and Dame Fritchie, the standards committee said her role should be beefed up, with extra powers to prevent ministerial departures from the code of practice on public appointments.

"She needs a board of commissioners to generate a strategic dialogue with departments and prevent an escalation of disputes," said committee chairman Sir Alistair Graham.

"And the rules on how ministers are involved in senior appointments need to be reformed to counter a lack of public trust in the system."

New restrictions

The report, released on Wednesday, said that ministers should see their current role in appointments reformed, so that their involvement is limited to the pre-selection process.

And they will no longer have a choice between appointable candidates, with that decision instead being delegated to the selection panel.

In addition, permanent secretaries should "accept explicit responsibility for the propriety of the selection arrangements for public appointments in their departments", the committee concluded.

And those Whitehall departments which have a good record on implementing the code of conduct on appointments would benefit from "a lighter regulatory touch", having only to produce annual public appointments plans.

An end to cronyism?

Sir Alistair said action was needed to address "structural weaknesses" in the current system.

Speaking to journalists in Westminster, he expressed disappointment that after 10 years of action to boost public confidence in politics and politicians, the perception of cronyism remained a strong one.

The committee chairman cautioned that ministers should not simply be viewed as "the villains of the piece", saying they had a legitimate role to play in deciding what selection processes should apply to various public bodies.

"But at the end of the day, what the public wants is the most effective person to be appointed," he added.

Sir Alistair urged the government to press ahead with the "speedy implementation" of the proposals.

Plans welcomed

Shadow constitutional affairs secretary Oliver Heald welcomed the report and backed moves to strengthen the independence and accountability of the appointments process.

"We also believe that for certain appointments we should be looking at the possibility of confirmation hearings by select committees," he said.

"If we are to restore trust in the political process, we need to ensure the system is transparent and accountable rather than a charter for cronyism."