Wales has four Commissioners who are appointed by the First Minister for Wales. They are supported through similar funding and governance arrangements. The Welsh Language Commissioner, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and the Future Generations Commissioner are all appointed on a fixed, non-extendable, 7-year term of office.
However, The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales (OPCW) is appointed on a 4-year term of office. There is the possibility of 2-year extension or to reapply under a competitive process, if agreed by the First Minister and those that represent the views of older people in Wales.
The OPCW is appointed in accordance with the following regulations:
- The Commissioner for Older People in Wales (Appointment) Regulations 2007 as amended by:
- The Commissioner for Older People in Wales (Appointment) (Amendment) Regulations 2016
We propose that the term of office given to all Welsh Commissioners should be consistent at 7 years. This would allow all four Commissioners the same term of office and therefore the same opportunity to work with the groups of people that they represent and to champion change on their behalf.
To do this, we would like to amend the regulations which allow the First Minister to appoint the OPCW. We would increase the term of office from 4 to 7 years and withdraw the opportunity to ask the First Minister for an extension of 2 years, or to reapply through a competitive process.
The next OPCW is to be appointed by August 2024. We would like to make these changes to the regulations so that the next OPCW can be appointed on a 7-year term of office.