A group of Parliament's most senior back bench MPs has lambasted as ‘dismissive' the Government's approach to giving select committees a greater say over ministerial choices to key public posts.

In a report issued today, the House of Commons Liaison Committee - which brings together the chairs of all the select committees – states ministers have misjudged the mood of MPs and public expectations by rejecting calls to clarify which major public roles should be subject to scrutiny.

First introduced in 2007, pre-appointment hearings allow MPs to assess the quality of ministerial choices and provide public reassurance that candidates for top posts are chosen on merit and are of independent mind.

Currently parliamentary approval is needed for only three top posts, the head of the National Audit Office, the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman and the chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Liaison committee chair, Sir Alan Beith said the Government's response to some ‘surprisingly straightforward proposals' was ‘surprisingly poor'.

‘The Government says it's committed to increasing accountability in the public appointments process, but this dismissive and disengaged response makes this hard to believe,' said Sir Alan.

Stating pre-appointment hearings are now a well-established part of parliamentary scrutiny, Sir Alan - who chairs the justice select Committee - concluded ‘the Government is missing an opportunity to agree the ground rules, and to extend the process to other appointments for which it is needed'.