Today Spotlight on Corruption is releasing a scorecard on how the new government is implementing key recommendations on lobbying transparency.
These recommendations were made by the UK’s top ethics body, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL), and reiterated by parliament’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).
Our scorecard shows that:
- On two out of eight recommendations on improving government transparency releases accepted by the previous government, the new government has either backtracked or made no concrete commitment to take forward. These include significant commitments made by the last government to create a new central database and move from quarterly to monthly releases so that there is more timely information available.
- On four further recommendations made by CSPL and PACAC to improve transparency in government releases about meetings there has been no concrete commitment made. These include ensuring informal lobbying and meetings with special advisors other than those with senior media figures are declared, and stronger accountability for failure to release information in a timely and accurate way.
- On another four recommendations made to improve the Lobbying Register, again no commitment has been made. These include closing significant loopholes that allow foreign lobbyists to avoid scrutiny, and requiring more details about what meetings were about.
Last week Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Paymaster General, told Parliament that the new government is: “committed to transparency around lobbying. That is why we will have regular transparency updates. The approach that we take will frankly be in stark contrast with that of the Government who preceded us.”
However, in October, Baroness Twycross for the government told the House of Lords that “transparency data for ministerial meetings and overseas travel, special advisers and senior officials will continue to be published quarterly as it has been under previous administrations.” So far the government has only committed to create a new register on ministerial gifts and hospitality, which will be released monthly.
A government response to the PACAC report released in May 2024 is still outstanding.
With current transparency updates running at least two months late, it is not clear whether the first information about who has been meeting officials and ministers in the new government will be released later this month or in February. Either way it will mean that the public will not know anything about these meetings until 6-8 months after the new government took office.
Susan Hawley, Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption said:
“Lobbying transparency is fundamental to ensuring government accountability. The new government has a major opportunity here to show it really does mean to do things differently than the last one. It is essential that it comes forward urgently with plans to move to disclosure of meetings on a monthly basis, and expand transparency to special advisors and informal lobbying. It should also give an update on how it intends to implement the CSPL recommendations on standards across the board.”
Alastair McCapra, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, said:
“The lobbying industry is clear that it would welcome the opportunity to be held to higher standards. The Labour party showed real fervour towards lobbying reform as the official Opposition, but that initial enthusiasm has been replaced with a worrying silence. With trust in politics at historic lows, and lobbying rules that are more loophole than law, the government’s retreat from commitments made by the previous administration poses a real threat to the health and integrity of our democratic institutions. It’s time to stop tinkering around the edges and implement a comprehensive roadmap to meeting the CSPL’s recommendations.”
