Deputy Chair of the Security Vetting Appeals Panel (SVAP)

Dear Candidate

Thank you for your interest in this vacancy for a Deputy Chair of the Security Vetting Appeals Panel (SVAP). You may already have some idea about the important work of the SVAP the following pages will tell you more about the SVAP its purpose, the nature of the Board and this Deputy Chair role, as well as the application process. Please do also view the SVAP website to understand their work: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/security-vetting-appeals- panel

If, after reading the material, you have further questions about any aspect of this post you are welcome to speak to SVAP@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you have questions about the appointment process, you can contact the Cabinet Office Public Appointments Team via coappointments@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

If you believe you have the experience and qualities we are seeking, we very much look forward to hearing from you.

The Cabinet Office is looking for someone with exceptional communication and leadership skills to join the Security Vetting Appeals Panel (SVAP). This is both a challenging and exciting time to join the SVAP. National Security Vetting is a critical service for the Government and enables people to be appointed and moved into sensitive roles around government and industry, and also supports trusted relationships and the sharing of information with international partners.

The Deputy Chair is expected to use their skills and essential experience as a retired senior judge to run effective appeal hearings of a complex and sensitive nature, drafting hearing reports and issuing final recommendations. The Deputy Chair is also expected to consider matters of non-disclosure and provide well-reasoned arguments to resolve these issues between parties. The Secretariat is currently undergoing a period of transition and transformation to modernise and improve its practices and the successful candidate will have an integral role working alongside the Secretariat to achieve these aims. The successful candidate will also need to develop and maintain a close working relationship with the Secretariat, Chair and the Panel’s lay member

The Security Vetting Appeals Panel (SVAP) was announced by the Prime Minister (Mr Blair) in July 1997. It is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) with advisory functions, sponsored by the Cabinet Office. The Panel reviews decisions to refuse or withdraw security clearance and the process involved. This appeals process is available to employees in the public and private sectors and the Armed Forces who are subject to national security vetting and have exhausted existing appeals mechanisms within their own organisations and remain dissatisfied with the result. It is also available to contractors, but not to candidates for employment.

SVAP can recommend that the vetting decision should stand, or that security clearance should be granted or restored. It can also comment on the process followed, and can recommend that it be re-run, however these recommendations are not binding on departments and organisations, though in practice they are almost invariably followed.

The “HMG Personnel Security Controls” (here) sets out the process for reviewing decisions to refuse or withdraw national security vetting clearance. It requires organisations to have an internal appeals process against an initial decision. This internal process must follow natural justice principles, with individuals who hear appeals having had no prior involvement in the case. The arbiter is enjoined to operate as transparently as possible, and to consider (i) the decision (including scrutinising the information on which it was based); (ii) the decision-making process; and (iii) the level of disclosure provided to the applicant.

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

• Experience of presiding over hearings which require complex legal arguments to be assessed and authoritative rulings made, which might be subject to further legal challenge.
• The ability to question witnesses and manage legal representatives in order to effectively conduct a hearing involving conflicting arguments and evidence.
• The ability to manage the contribution of lay Members in an authoritative but open way.
• The ability to examine and analyse complex issues in an impartial way.
• A commitment to consensual decision-making.
• Good communication and team-working skills.
• The ability to draft reports of case hearings.

 The successful candidate must be a Senior retired member of the judiciary (Appeal Court or High Court judge).