Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who in his Department took the decision not to disclose to the House of Commons Justice Committee the family connections of Mr Paul McDowell to Sodexo Justice Services as part of the pre-appointment scrutiny process.
The documentation sent to the pre-appointment scrutiny committee by the Ministry of Justice’s Arms Length Bodies Governance Division.
The family connections of Mr McDowell with Sodexo Justice Services were considered carefully by the selection panel which followed the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice.
At the time of the pre-appointment scrutiny of Mr McDowell, Sodexo were only at an early stage of the bidding process for contracts under Transforming Rehabilitation. There was no actual or perceived conflict of interest at that time nor any certainty that a risk of conflict would arise at a later date.