Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many, and which, enquiries into breaches of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) rules resulted in findings against former ministers since 2010; and on how many occasions ACOBA recommendations have not been adhered to since 2010.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) is independent from Government and its role is to provide advice on applications submitted under the Government's Business Appointment Rules (the Rules) from the most senior Civil Servants and former Ministers. In doing so it considers the risks posed by an application and advises on the conditions that should apply. Relevant correspondence is published on ACOBA’s website.

ACOBA is only one part of the Business Appointments system. Other applications are considered by the responsible department; and departmental boards are responsible for the oversight of the Rules within each department, via Audit and Risk Committees.