First Minister rejects code breach claim
FIRST Minister Carwyn Jones has rejected a complaint that Leader of the House Julie James broke the Ministerial Code by awarding funding to a body which is a client of the lobbying company which employs her son.
Independent AM Neil McEvoy complained that Ms James should have withdrawn from all decisions about the funding of Chwarae Teg, a charity that promotes the interests of women in the workplace.
He argued that the Swansea West AM had a conflict of interest because her son works for Deryn Consulting, which has a contractual relationship with Chwarae Teg.
Ms James approved core funding for Chwarae Teg and also awarded the charity a contract to review the Welsh Government’s equalities and gender policies without going to competitive tender.
In a letter to Mr McEvoy, the First Minister stated: “Julie James made an appropriate declaration in the Members’ register regarding her son’s employment, and declared this to the Permanent Secretary under the provisions of the Ministerial Code.
“It is a matter of judgement when it would be necessary for a minister to have a subject area excluded from their portfolio, to refer an issue requiring a decision to me for determination, or not to participate in an Assembly debate. But it would have to be more than just an indirect connection, as is the case here.
“Julie James’ son does not work for Chwarae Teg. He is an employee of a consultancy which has Chwarae Teg among its clients. These links are too indirect and tenuous to have made it necessary for Chwarae Teg to be excluded from Julie James’ portfolio or for a declaration of a conflict of interest to be necessary.”
Mr McEvoy responded in a letter to Mr Jones, saying a Freedom of Information disclosure showed that a senior civil servant had written that by making a declaration in light of her son’s employment by Deryn, Julie James had “recognised the potential for there being a perception that the organisation might have preferential access to ministers through such a family connection”.
The civil servant’s email continued by stating they would “monitor” the situation, “as we do for all potential conflicts of interest”.
Mr McEvoy stated: “We’d know more about the relationship between Deryn and Chwarae Teg if we had a register of lobbyists.”
He added that in his view the Leader of the House should have had nothing to do with the decision to award public money to her son’s company’s client.
Neither Chwarae Teg nor Deryn have wanted to comment on Mr McEvoy’s complaint.