David Cameron has defended the way new public officials are vetted, after the probation watchdog stepped down amid conflict of interest fears.
Paul McDowell resigned as chief inspector of probation at the start of the month, citing "a perception of conflict" over his marriage to the managing director of Sodexo Justice Services. The private firm has gone on to win the largest number of contracts under the Ministry of Justice's Transforming Rehabilitation scheme.
At a session of the Liaison Committee on Tuesday, Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge asked the prime minister whether he felt the row meant there was now a "strong case" for reviewing public appointments procedures.
But Cameron rejected the call for review, while acknowledging government did not "always get it right".
"When it comes to public appointments - like the appointments of chief inspectors or people to the boards of museums or non-departmental public bodies and all the rest of it - there is a well-run office, linked between Number 10 and the Cabinet Office, that draws that information together and tries to make sure we are appointing the right people, that we're also trying to make sure that we're appointing more women to important public roles, and keeps a good grip on it and tells departments we want proper information in advance about the processes you're running and all the rest of it," he told the Liaison Committee.
"And that is, I think, better-coordinated. Do we always get it right? Does every decision get made [correctly]? Of course not? But that's how it works. And that's a good way of doing it so you are coordinating across government."
The MoJ's permament secretary Dame Ursula Brennan told MPs on Monday that Mr McDowell had been "completely transparent" about his wife's role, and said it would have been "improper to exclude him" on the basis of their relationship.
HMRC
At the same Liaison Committee grilling, the prime minister also threw his weight behind the "very strict code of operation" barring HM Revenue & Customs officials from handing ministers details on the tax affairs of individuals.
HMRC's knowledge-sharing with ministers has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after the tax authority confirmed it had received leaked data on tax avoidance at HSBC's Switzerland arm ahead of the appointment of the bank's former chairman Lord Green as a trade minister.
Cameron said that the separation between HMRC and politicians was "not some dusty, arcane idea", but rather a way of ensuring that tax matters were not abused for electoral gain.
"In lots of other countries around the world Prime Ministers order tax investigations into their political opponents," he added.
"HMRC has a very strict code of operation. I think that's important. Can we improve these things? I'm very happy to look at ideas. But in terms of declarations of interest, the conversation ministers are meant to have with permanent secretaries about interests and all those things, it is pretty thorough."