MPs today raised concerns over whether the government's preferred candidate has enough sector experience to be the next chair of the Charity Commission.
Baroness Stowell appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee this morning for a pre-appointment hearing.
A number of MPs questioned whether her previous role in government meant she could be truly independent. Stowell is a Conservative peer and former leader of the in the House of Lords. She has also worked in senior civil service and BBC roles.
Damian Collins, the Conservative chair of the committee - which is made up of five Tories, five Labour and one SNP MP - referred to concerns raised by Andrew Hind, former Commission chief executive, and sector bodies in recent weeks.
Hind recently wrote an article for Civil Society News questioning whether the appointment process is working, and wrote an open letter to the committee underlining his concerns. Leaders from Acevo, Bond, Charity Finance Group, Navca and the Directory of Social Change also wrote a joint letter to the committee setting out concerns about the process, although NCVO has not expressed concerns.
Collins said that Stowell is "open to the charge that your experience doesn't give you that level of insight".
Rebecca Powell, Conservative, said she thought a "little more experience" of regulation might have been "helpful".
Jo Stevens, Labour, pressed Stowell on how many charity board meetings she has attended since becoming a trustee of Crimestoppers last year and the Transformation Trust in January.
"How do you think your attendance at three board meetings of two small charities makes you suitable?" she said.
Stevens also raised the issue of her voting record during her time as a Conservative peer on issues such as welfare cuts, which charities have campaigned against, and said: "How will charities feel confident of your record."
Julie Elliott, Labour, said that some of the things she had voted for had been "catastrophic" for the beneficiaries of some charities.
Brendon O'Hara, Scottish National Party, asked if "this is just another party political appointment" and if she was worried by the "disappointment" expressed by people in the sector.
'I'm a veteran outsider'
But Stowell said her lack of experience was not necessarily a bad thing, and that she could bring a "fresh perspective". She said she had not presented herself as someone with vast charity experience, but that she brought other skills to the table.
She said that throughout her career she has been a "veteran outsider" and highlighted her work taking the equal marriage bill through Parliament despite opposition from within her own party. She also stressed that her intention to resign the party whip if appointed was her idea and that she is committed to being "independent".
"During my time as chair I would be very careful to be absolutely independent," she said.
She said she would work with others in the sector and that her experience at the BBC and in politics means she thinks she has the skills to address the challenge the sector faces when it comes to the decline in public trust.
Stowell said she had spoken to people within the sector who did not think her involvement in politics should be a barrier and that she was committed, if appointed, to "representing the public interest".
She said it was "completely not the case" that she had sought to join charity boards in the past few months to pad out her CV and that she had found out about the position from an email alert about public appointments.
She was announced as the government's preferred candidate at the end of January and the pre-appointment hearing is an opportunity for the committee of MPs that scrutinises the regulator to question the candidate.
Committees cannot veto a candidate, but the committee can produce a positive or a negative report, and will have the opportunity to express any concerns to the minister.
The culture secretary, Matthew Hancock, will then decide whether to confirm the appointment.
William Shawcross, the current chair of the regulator, has had his term extended until Friday.
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