Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill 2nd Reading Legislative Briefing Briefing Note by Transparency International UK (TI-UK) 3rd September 2013
Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill – 2nd Reading Legislative Briefing (3rd Sept 2013) All political parties seem to be in denial about the scale of public perception that they, and the UK Parliament, are affected by corruption. The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill, as proposed, is inadequate for the scale of the problem and needs to be replaced by a Bill that is fit for purpose.
The Context Lobbying is one of a number of areas in which special interests, backed by money, can subvert democracy. Regulation needs to address both those who seek to influence inappropriately and those who are being lobbied. Even within its own terms, this bill is inadequate. To be truly effective, there needs to be, among other actions, regulation of all forms of lobbying that extends beyond the proposed (limited) register of lobbyists:
A cap on donations to political parties Proper regulation of the revolving door of employment Reform of the honours system A renewed emphasis on ethical conduct for Parliamentarians, with stronger sanctions for breaches of acceptable behaviour.
These need to be considered collectively otherwise the tightening of regulation in one area will lead to the exploitation of loopholes in another. In each of these areas greater transparency is required; but in many of them, transparency must be supplemented by other measures. The objective should be to have effective, but low burden, transparency mechanisms that capture the breadth of political influence, including transparency requirements placed on those who are ultimately funding lobbying or influencing activities, by whatever mechanism. Transparency International (TI)’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013 revealed the scale of the problem:
90 per cent of UK respondents believe that the UK Government is ‘run by a few big entities acting in their own interest’. 67 per cent of UK respondents said they thought political parties in the UK were corrupt or extremely corrupt. 62 per cent of UK respondents think that the Government’s actions in tackling corruption are ineffective.
To what extent is this country’s government run by a few big entities acting in their own best interests?
Recent Parliamentary scandals include: Select Committee Chair’s independence being compromised; conflicts of interest with a Prime Ministerial adviser; improper Ministerial access; revolving door of employment and “cabs for hire”; Parliamentarians’ expenses; and honours for donors. The public perceive a deep problem with lobbying and influence in Parliament and government more broadly. In Transparency International’s view, this is based on the weaknesses and ambiguities in the current rules, which have been exploited and are poorly enforced.
The Bill In TI’s view, the definition of the “consultant lobbyist” in clause 2, given schedule 1 part 1 exceptions, will not provide greater or more effective transparency about lobbying. At a basic level, considering the Bill as a register of consultant lobbyists only, it exempts the vast majority of lobbyists. Indeed there are strong arguments that that the Bill, because of its minority coverage of the public affairs industry, would result in less transparency than the current self-regulation arrangements, which are themselves inadequate. The Bill does not even address the nature of the most recent scandals, which did not involve consultant lobbyists but did involve unethical politicians and conflicts of interest. Transparency International is not unsupportive of trade unions and charities being covered by the definition of lobbying used for transparency and reporting purposes. However, we oppose the Bill’s current drafting in this area as the restriction it creates may serve to undermine freedom of expression by such organisations - while abuses or loopholes could be dealt with by other mechanisms. Transparency International believes that lobbying legislation should not solely consider a statutory register. However, any legislation that includes a register should:
Apply consistently to lobbying of the UK Government, Parliament, devolved legislatures or administrations, regional or local government or other public bodies. Cover all organisations and self-employed persons that engage in substantial lobbying activity targeted at public officials, even where this may be a small proportion of the overall organisation’s business (such as a FTSE100 company). This includes organisations that are not specialist lobbyists but have in-house lobbying capacity and engage in lobbying activity. Require that registration should include information such as lobbyists’ names, their client list (where appropriate), the subject of their lobbying (respective to their client where appropriate); details of any advisors or practitioners who have held any public office during the previous five years and their expenditure on lobbying (respective to their client where appropriate) on a quarterly basis. Be maintained and monitored by an independent body that is empowered to carry out investigations and audits of the information it receives and to maintain a whistleblowers’ hotline to receive complaints about violations of the rules. Include a criminal offence of Failure to disclose accurate information.
Any definition used for the purposes of identifying a threshold for lobbying reporting requirements should minimise the barriers to access to politics and participation from a citizen or constituent point of view. Transparency International believes the government should replace the Bill with a more satisfactory Bill after engaging in a thorough review of access and transparency in British politics, including allowing the Committee on Standards in Public Life to complete its review of lobbying. Only a wide ranging, rather than narrow, review has the potential to respond to public disaffection with the political process and its vulnerability to abuse. Both the practices of lobbyists and those being lobbied are unsatisfactory. For both lobbyists and those being lobbied the following reforms need to be considered:
Conduct guidelines and transparency reporting requirements need to be strengthened; Counter-corruption awareness training needs to be made obligatory; Independent authorities should be resourced to audit, investigate and initiate sanctions for breaches of guidelines; and Sanctions should be put in place that provide a meaningful deterrent to unethical behaviour.
Money should not to be a distorting factor in forming policy or gaining access to decision makers. Lobbying on any particular issue or decision should be visible and have an audit trail. Such information should be presented in a manner that is accessible and comparable for the public, media and civil society to scrutinise.
Annex I
Transparency International UK (www.transparency.org.uk), the UK national chapter of TI, fights corruption by promoting change in values and attitudes at home and abroad, through programmes that draw on the UK’s unique position as a world political and business centre with close links to developing countries. Transparency International UK:
Raises awareness about corruption; Advocates legal and regulatory reform at national and international levels; Designs practical tools for institutions, individuals and companies wishing to combat corruption; and Acts as a leading centre of anti-corruption expertise in the UK.
Transparency International UK’s vision is for a world in which corruption is greatly reduced and the UK has zero tolerance for corruption both at home and abroad.
Contact: Nick Maxwell Research Manager Transparency International UK E: nick.maxwell@transparency.org.uk T: + 44 (0)20 7922 7976