- Former ministers and officials should be fined if they breach revolving door rules, the watchdog's chair has said.
- Lord Pickles said the current system's lack of enforcement was not credible.
- Pickles suggested severance pay of nearly £20,000 for ex-ministers could be targeted.
The enforcement system where "nothing happens" to former ministers and officials who break revolving door rules is not credible, the chair of the revolving door watchdog has said.
In an interview with trade magazine Public Finance, Lord Eric Pickles, chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), turned the tables on claims that his committee is toothless, instead arguing it is the rules that lack bite. These rules are set by the government, not ACOBA.
Pickles, a Conservative peer and former Cabinet minister, said the current system was not "terribly credible" and that the government must "get over the threshold of credibility". He said there needed to be the ability to fine those that broke the rules.
Pickles suggested fines could be levied on the severance pay received by former ministers, which can reach as much as £16,000.
ACOBA cannot block former ministers or officials from taking up jobs after government, and can only provide advice reminding people of their obligations not to lobby the government for two years from their departure date. ACOBA cannot compel former ministers or officials to go to them for advice before taking up the job.
In the case of a breach of the rules, their sole power is to publish a letter to the Cabinet Office informing them of the breach, saying it is for the government to then take further action as appropriate.
No former minister or official who has broken the rules has ever faced sanctions from the government as a result.
Pickles said he was working with the government to update the rules. This work was meant to have concluded by the end of 2021 but was delayed in December 2021 to an unspecified date in 2022.
Changes already implemented since he had become chair of ACOBA included having the watchdog be consulted on honours, future government roles, and elevation to the House of Lords.
The change to have ACOBA consulted on the appropriateness of former ministers and officials receiving honours took "quite a tussle to get", he said.
"I certainly believe the greatest task is about enforcement. If you decide to devote your life looking after orphans and people on a low income and don't receive a salary, and forget to apply, or if you decide to join SPECTRE [a criminal organisation from the James Bond franchise] and work out ways to murder the firstborn, the result is the same," he said.
"Nothing happens to you. And I don't think that's terribly credible."
Pickles said some departments were "slapdash" and not properly considering the risks of former ministers and officials taking up appointments.
Pickles also criticised the ministerial code, calling it a "dog's breakfast" that should be re-written from scratch based on the seven Nolan Principles of Public Life.
Pickles supported the Committee on Standards in Public Life's rejection of proposals for a unified ethics body, which the opposition Labour Party has called for, saying the suggestion was "beyond ghastly".
Insider has extensively reported on the shortcomings of the Business Appointment Rules :
- Former housing minister Esther McVey gave a paid speech on how to lobby the government to a construction trade association. ACOBA had previously found she broke the rules for taking a role as a GB News presenter without seeking their advice first.
- In September 2021, George Freeman was reappointed as a minister after being found to have breached the rules by failing to consult ACOBA.
- Former Welsh secretary Alun Cairns took a £30,000-a-year job with a Singaporean private equity firm after advising them in office on how to invest in a £1.3 billion government-backed programme he had oversight of. The department said it had no concerns about the role.
- Robbie Gibb, former director of communications to Theresa May, joined the board of a top Conservative lobbying forum but did not consult ACOBA. Pickles is the president of the forum, and another member of the committee is chairman and co-founder of the forum.
- Dominic Cummings, former chief advisor to Boris Johnson, did not seek advice from ACOBA before starting his paid-for Substack and offering his services as a consultant. Unusually, the government is yet to respond to the letter sent to them by Pickles in July 2021, despite having responded to letters about other individuals sent subsequently.
ACOBA did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.