THE process that led to the appointment by Secretary of State Karen Bradley of a new Probation Board chairman and independent board members had "serious flaws", according to a watchdog's report.
The report by the Commissioner for Public Appointments also identified breaches of data privacy in the selection process, which has sparked a separate probe by the Information Commissioner's Office.
The appointment of Dale Ashford, the former interim head of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, was one of a number of senior quango roles filled by the secretary of state under newly-introduced legislation.
The bill was passed at Westminster last November to enable Mrs Bradley to make key appointments in the absence of a Stormont executive.
However, six months after one of the first appointments under the new law, a watchdog's report has identified "weaknesses and breaches" in the competition process.
Commissioner for Public Appointments Judena Leslie's greatest concern centres on the "prominent insertion" of equality monitoring information about candidates' religion/community background and gender into the briefing documents for the secretary of state in the final stages of the appointment process.
The report concludes that the advice from officials to Mrs Bradley "could be read that it was permissible to take this information into account".
"Moreover it could also be read that it was desirable to do so in order to achieve ‘a balanced board’," the report states.
"The inclusion of the monitoring information and the accompanying advice constitute fundamental breaches of the public appointments code."
Mrs Leslie's report says the breaches may have led to perception that that religion/community background played a role in the secretary of state’s decision.
"Furthermore, if that happened the evidence suggests this may possibly have been to the detriment of one or more candidates."
It also says that the use of monitoring data was a "clear breach of the privacy undertaking" given by the Department of Justice to each candidate.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has instigated an investigation into the use of personal data in the appointment round.
The Probation Board chairman is paid a salary of £33,000 for two days work per week, while board members receive £5,050 for two days a month.
The report does not call into question the suitability of those appointed to the board during the process and said there was no evidence to suggest Ms Bradley sought information on candidates' religion or community background.
