3. Lobbying for Reward or Consideration
THE 1947, 1995, AND 2002 RESOLUTIONS
89. On 6 November 1995[25]
the House agreed to the following Resolution relating to lobbying
for reward or consideration:
"It is inconsistent with the dignity of the
House, with the duty of a Member to his constituents, and with
the maintenance of the privilege of freedom of speech, for any
Member of this House to enter into any contractual agreement with
an outside body, controlling or limiting the Member's complete
independence and freedom of action in Parliament or stipulating
that he shall act in any way as the representative of such outside
body in regard to any matters to be transacted in Parliament;
the duty of a Member being to his constituents and to the country
as a whole, rather than to any particular section thereof: and
that in particular no Members of the House shall, in consideration
of any remuneration, fee, payment, or reward or benefit in kind,
direct or indirect, which the Member or any member of his or her
family has received is receiving or expects to receive
(i) Advocate or initiate any cause or matter
on behalf of any outside body or individual, or
(ii) urge any other Member of either House of
Parliament, including Ministers, to do so,
by means of any speech, Question, Motion, introduction
of a Bill or Amendment to a Motion or a Bill or any approach,
whether oral or in writing, to Ministers or servants of the Crown."
(Resolution of the House of 15 July 1947, amended
on 6 November 1995 and on 14 May 2002)
90. This Resolution prohibits paid advocacy.
It is wholly incompatible with the rule that any Member should
take payment for speaking in the House. Nor may a Member, for
payment, vote, ask a Parliamentary Question, table a Motion, introduce
a Bill or table or move an Amendment to a Motion or Bill or urge
colleagues or Ministers to do so.[26]
91. The Resolution does not prevent a Member
from holding a remunerated outside interest as a director, consultant,
or adviser, or in any other capacity, whether or not such interests
are related to membership of the House. Nor does it prevent a
Member from being sponsored by a trade union or any other organisation,
or holding any other registrable interest, or from receiving hospitality
in the course of his or her parliamentary duties whether in the
United Kingdom or abroad.[27]
However, if a financial interest is required to be registered
in the Register of Members' Financial Interests, or declared in
debate, it falls within the scope of the ban on lobbying for reward
or consideration.
92. The Resolution in its current form extends
and reinforces an earlier Resolution of the House in 1947 that
a Member may not enter into any contractual arrangement which
fetters the Member's complete independence in Parliament by any
undertaking to press some particular point of view on behalf of
an outside interest.[28]
Nor, by virtue of the same Resolution, may an outside body (or
person) use any contractual arrangement with a Member of Parliament
as an instrument by which it controls, or seeks to control, his
or her conduct in Parliament, or to punish that Member for any
parliamentary action.[29]
93. The rule regarding lobbying for reward or
consideration applies equally in the case of benefits received
by family members by blood or by marriage or a relationship equivalent
to marriage.[30]
94. In addition to the requirements of the ban
on lobbying for reward or consideration, Members should also bear
in mind the long established convention that interests which are
wholly personal and particular to the Member, and which may arise
from a profession or occupation outside the House, ought not to
be pursued by the Member in proceedings in Parliament.
GUIDELINES ON THE APPLICATION OF
THE BAN ON LOBBYING FOR REWARD OR CONSIDERATION
95. The Resolution was modified in 2002 to reflect
recommendations made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life
in 2000 in the light of evidence it had received that the arrangements
put in place in 1995, particularly those relating to initiation
of proceedings, were operating unduly harshly and were unnecessarily
inhibiting the ability of Members to become well informed and
to use their expertise and experience effectively. The aim of
the recommended changes, while retaining the ban on 'paid advocacy'
and on seeking to confer benefits exclusively on a particular
individual or body, was a relaxation of the restrictions on initiation
to enable a Member with a personal interest to initiate proceedings
on the same basis as that on which they were already allowed to
participate.[31]
96. The Committee on Standards and Privileges
has provided the following Guidelines to assist Members in applying
the rule:
i. Parliamentary proceedings: When a Member
is taking part in any parliamentary proceeding or making any approach
to a Minister or servant of the Crown, advocacy is prohibited
which seeks to confer benefit exclusively upon a body (or individual)
outside Parliament, from which the Member has received, is receiving,
or expects to receive a financial benefit, or upon any registrable
client of such a body (or individual). Otherwise a Member may
speak freely on matters which relate to the affairs and interests
of a body (or individual) from which he or she receives a financial
benefit, provided the benefit is properly registered and declared.
ii. Constituency interests: Irrespective
of any relevant interest which the Member is required to register
or declare, he or she may pursue any constituency interest in
any proceeding of the House or any approach to a Minister or servant
of the Crown, except that:
- where
the Member has a financial relationship with a company in the
Member's constituency the guidelines above relating to parliamentary
proceedings shall apply;
- where
the Member is an adviser to a trade association, or to a professional
(or other representative) body, the Member should avoid using
a constituency interest as the means by which to raise any matter
which the Member would otherwise be unable to pursue.[32]
97. The Committee on Standards and Privileges
has made it clear that it would regard it as a very serious breach
of the rules if a Member failed to register or declare an interest
which was relevant to a proceeding he or she had initiated. Similar
considerations would apply in the case of approaches to Ministers
and others.[33]
98. "Initiating a parliamentary proceeding"
includes:
- presenting
a Bill;
- presenting
a Petition;
- tabling
and asking a Parliamentary Question;
- asking
a supplementary question to one's own Question;
- initiating,
or seeking to initiate an adjournment (or other) debate;
- tabling
or moving any Motion (e.g. an "Early Day Motion" a Motion
for leave to introduce a Bill under the "Ten Minute Rule"
or a Motion "blocking" a Private Bill;
- tabling
or moving an Amendment to a Bill;
- proposing
a draft Report, or moving an Amendment to a draft Report, in a
Select Committee;
- giving
any written notice, or adding a name to such notice, or making
an application for and introducing a daily adjournment debate,
or an emergency debate.
PARAMETERS TO THE OPERATION OF THE
BAN ON LOBBYING FOR REWARD OR CONSIDERATION
99. The Committee on Standards and Privileges
has also agreed to the following parameters to the operation of
the rule:
1. Registrable interests:
The ban on lobbying for reward or consideration is to apply with
equal effect to any registrable or declarable financial benefit
irrespective of the source of that benefit (ie no distinction
is drawn between financial benefits received from a company, a
representative organisation, a charity, a foreign government or
any other source). Similarly, no distinction should be drawn in
the application of the advocacy rule to different categories of
registrable or declarable benefit[34]
(except for the provision below relating to ballot bills, to overseas
visits, and to membership of other elected bodies). Non-financial
interests registered by Members do not fall within the scope of
the Resolution agreed by the House on 6th November 1995 and the
rule does not apply to them.
2. Past, present, and future benefits:
Unlike the Register, which lists current benefits, or benefits
received in the immediate past, the Resolution on lobbying of
6 November 1995 also refers, as does the rule on declaration,
to past and expected future benefits and to indirect benefits.
It is difficult to contemplate circumstances where any benefit
received some time in the past, particularly an interest which
has not been current in the past twelve months could be sufficiently
relevant to be taken into account under the rule (see (4) below).
Expected future interests, on the other hand, may be more significant.
For example, Members expecting to derive direct financial benefit
from particular legislation should, as well as declaring the interest
in debate as appropriate, not seek to move Amendments to advance
the expected future interest. The same consideration applies to
other proceedings.
3. Continuing benefits:
Continuing benefits, i.e. directorships, other employment, and
sponsorship, can be divested to release a Member with immediate
effect from the restrictions imposed by the rule, providing that
the benefit is disposed of and there is no expectation of renewal.
4. "One-off" benefits:
The rule applies to "one-off" registrable benefits,
both visits and gifts, from the day upon which the interest was
acquired until one year after it is registered.
5. Family benefits:
The rule includes relevant payments to a Member's family, but
any payment to a member of the family of any Member which arises
out of the family member's own occupation is not regarded as a
benefit for the purposes of the Resolution,[35]
although it may be declarable.
6. Ballot Bills: Private
Members successful in the Ballot for Bills are not prevented from
introducing and proceeding with a Bill by reason of the fact that
they receive free or subsidised assistance from an organisation
connected with the purposes of the Bill provided the Member had
no pre-existing financial relationship with the organisation which
is registered, or is required to be registered.
7. Overseas Visits:
Although, except as set out in paragraph 47, overseas visits must
be registered and declared, such visits shall not be taken into
account when applying the rule.
8. Membership of other elected bodies:
Membership of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for
Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the European Parliament
and local authorities in the United Kingdom shall not be taken
into account when applying the rule.
9. Ministers: The
restrictions imposed by the rule do not apply to Ministers when
acting in the House as Ministers.
100. The financial interests of Members are
extremely varied, as the Register demonstrates. Each Member will
need to apply the rule and the Guidelines to his or her particular
circumstances. When in doubt, Members will be able to seek the
advice of the Registrar, the Commissioner, or the Committee on
Standards and Privileges. However, some
illustrative examples of the application of the Guidelines may
be of value:
(a) A Member who is director of a company may
not seek particular preference for that company (eg tax relief,
subsidies, restriction of competition) in any proceeding of the
House or any approach to Ministers or officials.
(b) In the case of trade associations, staff
associations, professional bodies, charities (or any similar representative
organisation):
i. Membership alone of any representative organisation
does not entail any restrictions under the rule.
ii. A Member who is, for example, a remunerated
adviser:
- may
not advocate measures for the exclusive benefit of that organisation;
nor speak or act in support of a campaign exclusively for the
benefit of the representative organisation or its membership (eg
a campaign for special tax relief, or for enhanced pay and numbers);
- may
speak or act in support of a campaign which is of particular interest
to the representative organisation (eg in the case of an animal
welfare organisation, a campaign to prohibit the importation of
animal fur, or prohibit blood sports; in the case of a charity
for cancer research, a campaign for the prohibition of smoking).
(c) When a Member has a problem involving a company
within his or her constituency the Member may take any parliamentary
action to resolve that problem, even though he or she may hold
a remunerated position with a body representing the relevant sector
of the industry regionally or nationally, or with another company
outside the constituency in the same industrial sector. Similarly
a Member who has a remunerated position with a representative
association is not restricted in any way in taking up the case
of a constituent who is a member of that association, or is employed
by a member of that association. The only circumstances when the
Member's actions are restricted are when the Member has a registrable
interest with the company concerned, in which case the guidelines
provide that the Member forfeits the special position he or she
has as a constituency Member.
(d) Members are reminded that when accepting
foreign visits they should be mindful of the reputation of the
House. However, the knowledge obtained by Members on such visits
can often be of value to the House as a whole. While it is desirable
that Members should be able to use that knowledge in debate in
the House there is a point at which promoting the interests, of
e.g. a foreign Government from which hospitality has been received,
crosses the line between informed comment and lobbying. Members
may not, for example, advocate in debate increased United Kingdom
financial assistance to a Government from which they have recently
received hospitality. Nor may a Member advocate any other measure
for the exclusive benefit of the host Government. Subject to this
constraint Members could, having declared their interest, raise
matters relating to their experiences in the country either in
a speech or by initiating any other proceeding. Similarly they
could raise matters relating to the problems of the country generally,
or make use of any local insight they have obtained into regional
problems (eg the situation in the Middle East or in South East
Asia, economic or social problems or an external threat) or information
they have obtained on local developments or initiatives.
(e) A Member whose visit was funded by a non-governmental
organisation (NGO) or other agency would not be inhibited in speaking
about its work or the problems it was dealing with. Only a matter
which was for the exclusive benefit of the NGO or agency, eg a
request for a grant-in-aid to the particular organisation, could
not be pursued.
(f) Accommodation provided solely for the purpose
of holding constituency surgeries is exempt from registration
and therefore from the application of the rule.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MEMBER
101. In common with the rules of the House relating
to registration and declaration of interest the main responsibility
for observation of the ban on lobbying for reward or consideration
lies with the individual Member. The Select Committee on Standards
in Public Life stated in its Second Report that "it is important
to make clear that it will not be the function of the Chair to
enforce the ban
during speeches, either by interrupting
a Member thought to be contravening it, or by declining to call
him. Complaints will be a matter for the Commissioner to investigate
in the first instance".[36]
The Speaker has declined to receive points of order relating to
registration or lobbying.[37]
DELEGATIONS
"... a Member with a paid interest should not
initiate or participate in, including attendance, a delegation
where the problem affects only the body from which he has a paid
interest."
(Part of a Resolution of the House of 6 November
1995)
102. A further Resolution agreed by the House
on 6 November 1995 restricts the extent to which any Member with
a paid interest may participate in, or accompany, a delegation
to Ministers or public officials relating to that interest. A
Member should not initiate, or participate in, or attend any such
delegation where the problem to be addressed affects only the
body with which the Member has a relevant interest, except when
that problem relates primarily to a constituency matter.
25 The Resolution was subsequently amended on 14th
May 2002 Back
26
The principal Resolutions of the House relating to lobbying are
set out in the Appendix. Back
27
Such interests must, of course, be registered or declared when
appropriate (see Sections 1 and 2 above). Back
28
Committee of Privileges, Report, Session 1946-47, HC 118, paragraphs
11 to 15. Back
29
Committee of Privileges, Second Report, Session 1974-75, HC 634,
paragraph 3. Back
30
Resolution of the House of 15th July 1947, amended on 6th November
1995 and on 14th May 2002. Back
31
Sixth Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Cm.
4557-I, paragraph 3.96. Back
32
The above Guidelines supersede the Guidelines in force until 14
May 2002 which reflected the distinction drawn by the Select Committee
on Standards in Public Life between the initiation of, and participation
in, parliamentary proceedings. Back
33
Fourth Report, Session 2001-02, Restrictions on the Initiation
of Parliamentary Proceedings: A Consultation Paper, HC 478, paragraph
15. Back
34
Select Committee on Standards in Public Life, Second Report, Session
1994-95, HC 816, paragraphs 33 and 34. Back
35
Ibid, paragraph 37. Back
36
Select Committee on Standards in Public Life, Second Report, Session
1994-95, HC 816, paragraph 26. Back
37
Eg HC Deb, vol 276, col 605 and vol 277, cols 767-68. Back
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