Oral Answers to Questions

Oliver Letwin Excerpts

Wednesday 5th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

1. What recent discussions he has had with the Deputy Prime Minister on the lobbying White Paper.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr Oliver Letwin)]

The Deputy Prime Minister has recused himself from any involvement with the question of lobbying due to a possible conflict of interest with his wife’s activities, and therefore I have not had any discussions with him whatsoever about this subject.

[Yvonne Fovargue]

Will the Minister explain why the Government have failed to bring forward any proposals for a statutory register of lobbyists? It seems that the public want one, the lobbying industry wants one and the Government promised one.

[Mr Letwin]

Yes, I will explain why we are where we are. The hon. Lady would, I am sure, share my view that it is important when issuing a consultation to pay some attention to the responses received. When we issued the consultation with a set of proposals for a statutory register, an enormous number of responses were received. We are going through them, considering them extremely carefully. The Select Committee on Public Administration also reported on the matter—it was a weighty and serious report—and had a great number of things to say. We are also considering those, and when we have finished that consideration, we will come forward with new proposals.

[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that there is a real risk in that although a request for a register of paid lobbyists is perfectly reasonable, we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater when all sorts of charities, voluntary organisations, trade unions and others who “lobby” perfectly legitimately are not paid lobbyists and should not be included?

[Mr Letwin]

My hon. Friend makes an important observation. One issue that came up in the course of the consultation, which many consultees and indeed the Select Committee commented on, is the question of scope. The Government’s initial proposals did not include any reference to lobbyists that were “in house”—the ones to which my hon. Friend refers—whether they be charities, businesses, social enterprises or whatever. Some respondents suggested that the scope should be wider. This is clearly something that needs to be considered, and my hon. Friend’s point is well taken.

[Jon Trickett (Hemsworth) (Lab)]

Yesterday’s reshuffle saw the entry into the Cabinet of every single Tory MP who had sat on the advisory board of the disgraced Atlantic Bridge lobbying organisation. Examples like this leave the Government open to the accusation that they are dragging their feet on regulating the industry because of inappropriately close relationships with lobbyists. This is damaging to the House and to democracy itself. Following the departure from his Department of the Minister responsible for regulating lobbying, will the Minister immediately bring forward legislation to regulate this matter once and for all?

[Mr Letwin]

I certainly do not want to get into any partisan repartee across the Dispatch Box on a matter that ought to command considerable cross-party agreement and support. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the remarks he has made on the record in the past about supporting the principle of regulating lobbying. I should, however, point out that his party was in government for a very long period during the whole of which issues were raised about this subject and at no time did that Government issue a paper or consult on it, or move towards serious regulation of it. If he feels that this should have been done immediately, the question arises of why it was not done from 1997 onwards. To help him, the answer is, of course, that it is an extremely complicated and difficult subject, which is why the Select Committee and respondents to the consultation had many things to say. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will, on mature reflection, agree that we should consider this in an unpartisan spirit and try to get it right.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

2. How much money was saved as a result of his Department’s cross-Whitehall spending controls in 2012.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr Oliver Letwin)]

The ministerial code and civil service code set out the standards of conduct expected of Ministers and civil servants. They are published for the House and were last published in May 2010.

[Mr McCann]

I am grateful to the Minister for that response, but does he concede that a review of both codes is necessary to ensure that Ministers cannot hide behind civil servants when failures occur and, most importantly, that senior civil servants do not avoid scrutiny by using political independence as a camouflage for frustrating Government policy?

[Mr Letwin]

The hon. Gentleman asks an important question. Clause 1 of the ministerial code makes it abundantly clear that no Minister can hide behind anything as

“Ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and to be held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments and agencies”.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General has recently issued the first steps in the civil service reform programme, which seek to enlarge the area of accountability for senior civil servants to include direct accountability both for the quality of their policy advice and for its implementation.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that it is for the Prime Minister to decide whether to initiate an investigation of an alleged breach of the ministerial code and that it is for Parliament to hold him to account?

[Mr Letwin]

Yes, I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. Indeed, that system has served us well and is, I believe, accepted by the independent adviser on ministers interests.

[Jenny Chapman (Darlington) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.