Ex-watchdog chair warns of loss of public trust over business appointments

South Wales Guardian

a day ago

Lord Pickles, who until April chaired the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), told MPs he is concerned that a lack of focus on cases which do not fall under the committee's remit because they involve less senior roles could lead to a major scandal.
Acoba's work involves independently advising the Government, former ministers, senior civil servants and other crown servants on the rules around taking employment after leaving their jobs.
Echoing previous criticisms of the current rules, Lord Pickles described them as 'dead in the water, next to useless, pointless and in need of reform' during an appearance before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
He added: '(Acoba) only deals with top civil servants and less senior officials are the responsibility of the board at different government departments.
'That is the area that I'm most concerned about. I was concerned when I went in and I thought the last government were extraordinarily lucky not to have a scandal operating.
'The churn in the civil service is around 40,000 a year… it is of that magnitude.
'It would not be unreasonable to look at those people who had responsibility for procurement, for awarding contracts, and if you designated those posts and put them through a similar process.'
When pressed further on the issue, he added: 'If there was to say one thing that I would really like (the committee) to pursue it is that, because it will blow and given the confidence that the public has in politicians and the system, I think it might well be fatal.'
Lord Pickles repeated concerns about the focus on ex-ministers rather than Whitehall officials, some of whom he said are reluctant to engage fully with a process designed to maintain transparency.
He added: 'I think it is really important to understand that everybody concentrates on the ex-ministers because they've heard of them.
'But the real action is taking place among civil servants and there has become, I think, a degree of entitlement that is deeply worrying – both at Acoba level and below.
'There is a kind of a cohort effect taking place, in which the existing cohort looks after the exiting cohort in the assumption that that new cohort will look after them.'
He also questioned the ethos of some politicians and senior civil servants over their commitment to the seven Nolan Principles of behaviour in public life, adding 'everybody believes in the seven principles of public life until it applies to them'.
Lord Pickles said: 'If you look at the number of problems that we've had over the past five years, it can be neatly summed up in that people say: 'You know, the rules aren't for me because I am completely impeccable.'
'So far as the seven principles are concerned, the runt of the litter, the one that everybody ignores – the one that actually should be the most important – is leadership.
'I think those who engaged in public life in terms of moving towards propriety, they should set an example.
'In the recent years, I have been threatened with judicial review. I have been threatened with various lawyers and the like.
'If you are looking to take in lawyers, if you are trying to sort … you've entirely missed the point of the government business rules.'
Lord Pickles said the advisory process should be adjusted to focus on cases with the highest level of risk rather than applications in all circumstances.
He added: 'The business rules should be changed to just remove the flotsam and jetsam out of the system altogether and go to a kind of exemption regime and move it much more on a risk basis so you can really focus in on the exact risk and can be much more transparent with the public.'
Labour's manifesto pledged to establish a new ethics and integrity commission, with an independent chair, to 'ensure probity in Government'.
Lord Pickles said there is limited time for the Government to establish the commission through legislation, with delays for proposed amendments likely.
He added: 'I have got no objection whatsoever to it being put on a statutory basis.
'I'm just worried that the practicality is the Machiavellian nature of this building will conspire to ensure that it doesn't matter.'
Isabel Doverty, who was an independent member of the committee since 2021, has been appointed as Acoba's interim chair until December 31 2025.