Press release: Preferred candidate announced for new ICAI Chief Commissioner

Following an open competition, the Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, is pleased to announce that Dr Tamsyn Barton has been selected as the Government’s preferred candidate to succeed Dr Alison Evans as Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), the independent body responsible for scrutiny of UK aid.

Dr Barton was identified following a rigorous selection process, which was conducted in accordance with the Public Appointments Governance Code and validated by an independent assessor from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

The appointment is now subject to an International Development Select Committee pre-appointment hearing, scheduled to take place next Tuesday, 4 September 2018.

Biography: Dr Tamsyn Barton

Dr Barton was until recently the Chief Executive of Bond, following an extensive and varied career in international development since 1993. She was previously Director-General at the European Investment Bank, which she also represented on the Board of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

Prior to that, Dr Barton worked for a range of NGOs and the Department for International Development in a range of policy and programme management roles, in both India and the UK. She is also a Trustee of the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Notes to editors:

1. Pre-appointment hearings involve select committees taking evidence from the preferred candidate for certain public appointments before they are confirmed. Following the public hearings, committees publish a report setting out their views on the candidate’s suitability for the post.
2. Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding but Ministers will consider the committee’s views before deciding whether to proceed with an appointment.
3. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.
4. ICAI’s current chief commissioner, Dr Alison Evans, will leave ICAI at the end of 2018 to take up a post as Director General Evaluation at the World Bank Independent Evaluation Group.