Lobbying register only ‘scratches the surface’

In a scathing report, the political and constitutional reform committee warned that the coalition government’s proposals on lobbying only “scratch the surface” and will do little to alleviate public concerns over the influence lobbyists have on politicians.

Prime Minister David Cameron famously warned while he was still leader of the opposition that lobbying would be:”the next big political scandal”.

But in their report the MPs conclude: “The consultation paper is lacking in clear intent from the government, and only limited evidence is put forward to support its proposals…they are unlikely to prevent lobbying from becoming the ‘next big political scandal’.”

In February 2010, Mr Cameron said: “I’m talking about lobbying – and we all know how it works. The lunches, the hospitality, the quiet word in your ear, the ex-ministers and ex-advisers for hire, helping big business find the right way to get its way…we must be the party that sorts it out.”

But since then, a string of lobbying scandals highlighted in the report have continued to plague the government, leading to the resignations of cabinet ministers, including former defence secretary Liam Fox, special advisers and senior Tory party officials.

The latest scandal to hit the government was in April 2012, the report said, when Frederic Michel, an in-house lobbyist for News Corporation, had been in regular contact with officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, including sending texts to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt during their bid for BSkyB. The episode led to the resignation of Mr Hunt’s special adviser, Adam Smith (pictured).

“Regarding the document itself, it is a kind of grubby little document really. It has ‘compromise’ stamped all over it.” Francis Ingham, Public Relations Consultants Association

The government intends to introduce a statutory register for third party lobbyists which would be updated on a quarterly basis, giving details of who is doing the lobbying, with a draft bill proposed for this session of parliament.

But the MPs warned that the register would have failed to curb situations such as that arising from the News Corporation saga, because the government’s “narrow definition” of a lobbyist makes clear that only third-party lobbyists should be included.

Third party lobbyists work for agencies, and have several clients whereas in-house lobbyists work for a single organisation, lobbying MPs and ministers for that organisation only.

MPs also accused the government of attempting to bring in plans “lacking in clear intent” so that they can tick off a coalition pledge.

Chair of the committee, Graham Allen, said: “The government proposals target third party lobbyists, yet would produce little more than the current regime of voluntary regulation, without even a statutory code of conduct to regulate behaviour.

Read more: News Corp's close links to Downing St

The Chief Executive of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, Sir Stuart Etherington, said the government’s plan for a statutory register was “so weak now there’s no point us joining it”.

The MPs heard evidence that the proposals could even make matters worse: “The UK Public Affairs Council warned that such an approach could even reduce regulation of the lobbying industry.”

The committee recommended that the government should instead publish information about ministerial meetings after a month or less of them taking place, and improve the level of detail given of meetings. “General terms such as ‘introductory’ and ‘catch-up’ are too vague to be listed as the topic of a meeting,” it said.

It also suggested that company and charity numbers of organisations meeting ministers or officials are published, and to publish information on all ministerial and official meetings on one website rather than on many websites.

However the committee conceded that the proposals would “be simple” to put into place, and would not require any public money as they are to be paid for on a “self-funding basis by the lobbying industry”.

“The UK Public Affairs Council warned that such an approach could even reduce regulation of the lobbying industry.” Graham Allen MP

Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of the Public Relations Consultants Association said in evidence to the committee: “Regarding the document itself, it is a kind of grubby little document really. It has ‘compromise’ stamped all over it.”

A Cabinet Office spokesman said the department would consider the recommendations and “respond in due course”.

A spokesman added: “Lobbying has an important role in the policy making process, ensuring that Ministers and senior officials hear a full range of views from those who will be affected by Government decisions. But it must be conducted in a transparent and open way.

“Our proposals for a statutory register are intended to address the problem that if someone has been hired as a lobbyist by a third party, it is not obvious to the public on whose behalf they are meeting Ministers.

“The government is going much further on transparency than previous Governments, publishing a wider range of information, more often and in a more consistent format. The government is working hard to speed up the process but a lot of information is being collected and it does take time to collate and publish.”