6 Conclusion
89. In conclusion, we are not
convinced that the Government's current proposals for introducing
a statutory register of lobbyists will do much to increase the
transparency of lobbying activity in the UK. The Government's
definition of a lobbyist is considered to be too narrow and potentially
unworkable by lobbyists, academics, charities and transparency
campaigners alike.
90. We call on the Government
to scrap its current proposals for a statutory register and implement
a system of medium regulation. A system of medium regulation would
include all those who lobby professionally, in a paid role, and
would require lobbyists to disclose the issues they are lobbying
Government on. In our view, this would improve transparency about
lobbying, and help to reduce public concerns about undue influence.
91. We believe that there is
much the Government can do immediately to improve transparency
around who is lobbying whom, through enhanced disclosure of ministerial
meetings. We recommend that the Government:
publish information about ministerial
meetings no more than a month after the month in which the meeting
occurred;
standardize the format of meeting
data, with a view to publishing all ministerial and official meetings
on one website, rather than on 24 different Government websites;
improve the level of detail in
meeting disclosures, so that the actual topic of a meeting is
disclosed, rather than obscure terms like 'general discussion';
and
publish, where applicable, the
company or charity number of any organisation that meets with
Ministers or officials, so that the identity of the organisation
can be properly verified.
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