1The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists
1.The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (“the Act”) included measures to establish a mandatory registration scheme for “Consultant Lobbyists”. The Act established the Register of Consultant Lobbyists (“the Register”) and the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (“the Registrar”), along with a small secretariat—the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (“ORCL”)—to oversee its maintenance. Alison White, a former commercial director with the Royal Mail, was appointed as the first Registrar.
2.The Registrar is appointed for a four year term. The holder of the post can be reappointed twice but to reduced, three year terms. In July 2018, the current Registrar confirmed that she would not be seeking reappointment at the end of her first term.1
3.Those engaged in consultant lobbying are required to submit an entry to the Register detailing their involvement in consultant lobbying. Engaging in consultant lobbying without first registering is prohibited. Following investigations by the ORCL, several firms have been issued with civil penalties for breaching the terms of the Act. The maximum penalty that can be imposed is £7,500. It defines a “consulting lobbyist” as someone who “In the course of a business and in return for payment, the person makes communications … on behalf of another person or persons” to Ministers of the Crown or Permanent Secretaries.
1 Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists Personal statement by the Registrar 8 June 2018
Published: 17 September 2018