TOOTHLESS!
MPs blast watchdog that lets ex-ministers waltz into lucrative jobs – and demand a two-year ban on most controversial posts
‘A lack of clear boundaries’
FORMER ministers should be banned for two years from taking up lucrative jobs in sectors related to their previous office, say MPs.
A damning report described the Whitehall jobs watchdog as a ‘ toothless regulator’ whose failure to clamp down on conflicts of interest is reducing trust in democracy.
The MPs said that unless the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) is given tougher powers to prevent former public servants taking up controversial jobs the system will remain open to ‘abuses’ in future.
The report by the Commons public administration committee said it was the ‘new normal’ for ex-ministers to walk through a ‘revolving door’ into lucrative jobs in the private sector.
Critics say this increases the chances of conflicts of interest, especially if people end up working in the same policy area for which they were responsible when in office.
The MPs want former ministers and officials banned for two years from taking up such a job. A ban would have prevented former cabinet ministers such as ex- Chancellor George Osborne and ex-Energy Secretary Sir Ed Davey from taking up jobs in the finance and energy sectors.
The MPs’ call follows a Mail investigation last year which found that two thirds of jobs approved by Acoba for ex-ministers and civil servants were in the same area in which they served the government.
Campaigners say this raises the risk of ministers helping a company in the expectation of a job after they leave politics.
The MPs said: ‘It has become part of the culture in public life that individuals are entitled to capitalise on their public sector experience when they move into the private sector – the “new normal” – but there is a lack of clear boundaries defining what behaviour is or is not acceptable.
‘The rules should be amended to include a principle that at a minimum, public servants should avoid taking up appointments within a two-year time period that relate directly to their previous areas of policy and responsibility when they have had direct regulatory or contractual authority.’
The report said the rules surrounding which jobs ex-ministers and civil servants can take after leaving office is riddled with loopholes. This included the monitoring of civil servants at lower levels who have responsibility for commercial management or developing policy. These are not regulated by Acoba, meaning they find it easier to take up jobs with private firms they used to work with.
Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin said: ‘Without greater clarity and understanding of what moral behaviour is expected of public servants, the culture has become established in public life, that individuals are entitled to capitalise on their public sector experience when they move into the private sector.
‘The Government must ensure the Acoba system is improved. Failure do so will lead to an even greater decline in public trust in our democracy and Government.’
At no time has Acoba publicly told a former minister they cannot take a job. While stressing that it was making no judgment of the conduct of individuals, the public administration committee said cases such as Mr Osborne and Sir Ed underlined the need for a major overhaul of the Acoba system.
It said: ‘The failures of governments in this regard have damaged trust in politics and public institutions. Acoba in its current form is a toothless regulator which has failed to change the environment around business appointments.’
CONFIRMING everything this paper has warned, MPs today condemn the Whitehall jobs watchdog as a ‘toothless regulator’ which undermines trust in democracy by letting ex-ministers and civil servants exploit public office for private gain.
indeed, it has become a national embarrassment to see figures such as George Osborne waltz into highly paid jobs for private firms, hoping to cash in on their inside knowledge and contacts.
Britain was once famed for the integrity of its MPs and mandarins. We won’t regain that precious reputation until the watchdog is given real teeth – and public service is seen once again as an end in itself, not just a step on the ladder to self-enrichment.