1 Report
Introduction
1. The post of Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists
is new. It was created in the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party
Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 and the Cabinet
Office asked us to carry out the pre-appointment hearing.
2. The post was first advertised in May 2014 and
re-advertised in August 2014. The Cabinet Office sent us the
information pack for candidates, setting out the requirements
of the post. On 10 September, the day before the pre-appointment
hearing was scheduled to take place, the Cabinet Office confirmed
the name of the preferred candidate and sent us the candidate's
curriculum vitae. It is regrettable that we were not given more
notice of the candidate's name. The timetable also left the candidate
with very little time to prepare for the pre-appointment hearing.
The application pack and the candidate's CV are appended to the
Report. The only difference between the May and August application
packs is the daily rate offered to the Registrar, which has risen
from £380 to £420.
3. We have already carried out extensive scrutiny
of the Government's policy on lobbying. In July 2012, we published
our report on the proposals in the Government's consultation paper,
Introducing a statutory register of lobbyists. We then
published two reports on the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party
Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill, which criticised
the narrow focus of the provisions on lobbying.
4. The Government has chosen to create a register
to make it clear whom third-party lobbyists—or "consultant
lobbyists" to use the Government's term—represent when
they meet Ministers and Permanent Secretaries. We argued that
in order genuinely to enhance transparency, a lobbying register
should cover all those who lobby professionally and all those
who offer professional advice on lobbying, whether they are third
party or in-house lobbyists, including those working for law firms,
trade associations, and think-tanks. We
continue to believe that the Government's policy on lobbying is
flawed, but this report is concerned not with the rights and wrongs
of the policy, but with the much narrower question of the suitability
of the preferred candidate to perform the role of Registrar as
it is set out in the Act.
The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists
5. Sections 3 to 7 and Schedule 2 of the Transparency
of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration
Act 2014 establish a Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists and require
them to keep a register of consultant lobbyists and to make sure
that register is publicly available on a website, and in whatever
other form or forms they think appropriate, and is up to date.
6. The meaning of "consultant lobbying"
is found in Section 2, which provides that
a person carries on the business of consultant
lobbying if-
(a) in the course of a business and in return
for payment, the person makes communications within subsection
(3) on behalf of another person or persons,
(b) the person is registered under the Value
Added Tax Act 1994, and
(c) none of the exceptions in Part 1 of Schedule
1 applies.
The exceptions in Schedule 1 cover:
- persons who carry on "a business which consists
mainly of non-lobbying activities," and for whom "the
making of the communication is incidental to the carrying on of
those activities";
- persons who act generally as representatives
of people of a particular class or description and who make lobbying
communications only as an incidental part of their representative
functions;
- officials or employees of Governments of other
countries;
- international organisations who make communications
on behalf of those bodies.
Section 2(3) makes it clear that the Act covers only
communications made personally to Ministers of the Crown or Permanent
Secretaries, relating to government policy, legislation, the award
of contracts, grants, licences or similar benefits, or the exercise
of any other Government function such as the exercise of the prerogative.
Following an amendment tabled by Lord Tyler at Report Stage in
the House of Lords, section 2(5) of the Act states: "Regulations
may amend subsection (3) so as to provide that communications
made personally to a special adviser are within that subsection."
7. The Registrar is an independent statutory office-holder,
who is appointed, and may be dismissed, by the Minister
8. Under section 8, the Registrar has a duty to monitor
the compliance with the registration requirements. Section 9
gives the Registrar the power to issue an information notice in
order to obtain from a consultant lobbyist, or someone the Registrar
"has reasonable grounds" to believe to be a consultant
lobbyist, the information necessary to determine whether they
are complying with the requirements in the Act.
9. The Act creates both civil and criminal liability
for falling foul of the registration requirements. Section 12
criminalises the following activity:
· carrying on the business of consultant
lobbying whilst unregistered [Section 12(1)];
· carrying on the business of consultant
lobbying without an accurate and up to date entry on the register
[Section 12(2)];
· failing to supply information required
in an information return [Section 12(3)(a)];
· providing inaccurate or incomplete information
in an information return [Section 12(3)(b)];
· failing to supply information in response
to an information notice [Section 12(4)(a)]; and
· providing inaccurate or incomplete information
in response to an information notice [Section 12(4)(b)].
Section 14 provides the Registrar with the power
to impose civil penalties on a person if the Registrar is satisfied
that their conduct amounts to one of the four offences specified
in Section 12(1) through to (4). Under Section 18, it is not
possible for an individual to be prosecuted and subject to civil
sanctions for the same conduct.
10. Section 21 states that the Registrar may issue
guidance, including on "the circumstances in which the Registrar
would, or would not, consider that a person is carrying on the
business of consultant lobbying", and the circumstances in
which the Registrar would consider it appropriate to impose a
civil penalty. The guidance must be published "on a website"
and "in such other form or forms as the Registrar considers
appropriate."
11. Schedule 2 sets out more detail about how the
office of the Registrar is to be constituted:
· the Registrar is a corporation sole;
· the Registrar cannot be appointed for
a term of more than four years; they may be appointed for a second
or third term, but this must not be more than three years;
· a person cannot be appointed as Registrar
if, at any time during the previous five years, they have been
a Minister, a Permanent Secretary, or they have "carried
on the business of consultant lobbying" or have been an employee
of a person who carried on that business;
· the Minister will determine what the Registrar
is paid;
· staff may be seconded to the Registrar
from Government Departments or elsewhere;
· the Registrar must send a copy of a statement
of accounts to the Comptroller and Auditor General in respect
of each financial year.
12. Candidates for the post were told in the information
pack that they would need to demonstrate:
· an ability to engage with and understand
the workings and regulation of the private sector and industry;
· an understanding of, and commitment to,
the need to maintain the highest standards of public life in line
with the seven principles of public life;
· strong leadership and interpersonal skills,
with an ability to command respect and establish credibility with
the consultant lobbying industry, Government, Parliament and the
public;
· an ability to operate effectively and
comfortably in the media spotlight as the public face of the office
of the Registrar; and
· strong communication skills and a personal
style that demonstrates authority and inspires trust and confidence.
13. The information pack for applicants stated: "This
is a part-time appointment. The Registrar is expected to commit
to around 30-50 days for the first year (mostly in the earlier
part of the first year) with a lower daily commitment in subsequent
years." On remuneration, the August application pack commented:
"The Registrar will receive a daily allowance of £420
per day. The Registrar can claim reimbursement for reasonable
travel and subsistence costs necessarily incurred on Registrar
business at rates set centrally by the Cabinet Office." The
May information pack had stated that the Registrar would receive
a daily allowance of £380.
14. Sixteen candidates applied for the post of Registrar
when it was advertised in August. Five candidates were shortlisted
for interview and, of those, three were deemed appointable. The
three appointable candidates met Sam Gyimah MP, Parliamentary
Secretary at the Cabinet Office, and Tom Brake MP, Deputy Leader
of the House of Commons, and a preferred candidate was chosen.
The preferred candidate: Alison
White
CANDIDATE'S BACKGROUND
15. The Government's preferred candidate for the
post of Registrar is Alison White. Her CV is appended to this
report. She spent 25 years working for Royal Mail, starting as
a counter clerk and finishing as Consumer and Small Business Director.
Since 2004, she has held a variety of senior posts, including
Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association, Chief Executive
of Business Link West Midlands, and interim Chief Executive and
Registrar of the General Dental Council.
OUR EVIDENCE
16. In line with the guidance produced by the Liaison
Committee on the conduct of pre-appointment hearings, our evidence
session assessed the candidate's professional competence and personal
independence. In particular, we questioned Alison White on the
following points:
· priorities as Registrar of Consultant
Lobbyists;
· the independence of the Registrar of Consultant
Lobbyists;
· familiarity with the lobbying industry;
· experience of operating in the media spotlight;
· familiarity with the seven principles
of public life.
17. We had concerns relating to how the candidate
would respond if the legislation was found to be wanting. There
should also be clarification about any potential conflict of interest
relating to her post as Non-Executive Director of the QE II Conference
Centre. Ministers may wish to consider action in relation to
these two points. In addition, we raised the candidate's lack
of familiarity with the lobbying industry and lack of a working
knowledge of Parliament.
The Committee's view on the suitability
of the candidate
18. Overall,
we are satisfied that Alison White has the professional competence
and personal independence required for the post of Registrar of
Consultant Lobbyists. We therefore support her appointment and
wish her every success in the new role.
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