Permanent Secretaries’ Membership on Boards of Companies

Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Permanent Secretaries’ membership on boards of companies

Parliament Sitting: 9 Sep 2024

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what specific criteria and checks are used to determine and monitor a Permanent Secretary's eligibility to sit on a company board; (b) who is responsible for making, reviewing, and reassessing these appointments; (c) how frequent are the appointments re-evaluated for potential conflicts of interest; (d) in the past five years, how many times have these checks identified and prevented a potential conflict; and (e) whether the results of these checks are made public and, if not, why not.

Oral Reply by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service

1.       Having public officers on private sector boards, and likewise private sector individuals on public sector boards, encourages greater diversity in perspectives and helps strengthen the understanding between the public and private sectors.

2.       As I have explained in the written reply to Ms Sylvia Lim on the same topic on 6 August 2024, Permanent Secretaries, like all civil servants, are required to seek the necessary approvals prior to accepting requests to serve as board directors of private sector companies. The Public Service Division works with Ministries to conduct conflict of interest checks to ensure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Permanent Secretaries’ ability to carry out their primary duties are not compromised.

3.       These checks take place prior to an appointment to a company board, during re-appointments, or when there are changes to an officer’s primary role. Appointments can proceed if there is no conflict of interest.