The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr Mark Harper)
Today the Government have launched a consultation on initial proposals to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists. The consultation will run until 13 April 2012 and a consultation paper (Cm 8233) is available on the Cabinet Office website. A copy of the consultation document will also be placed in the House Library.
We believe the introduction of a statutory register will be an important step towards increasing transparency and rebuilding public trust in politics. Our initial proposals are that any individual or firm who lobbies for a third party for money must put themselves on the register and disclose their clients. We think it is important that the public should be able to see who is lobbying Ministers, and for whom. That is why there is already a requirement that Ministers should publish details of who they are meeting, at least quarterly. We believe it is right that lobbying companies should disclose who is paying them to lobby Government.
We suggest that individuals or companies lobbying for themselves should not be covered by a register because the disclosure requirements on Ministers will show this activity already. We hope for a wide range of responses on all our proposals, but we are particularly interested to hear views on whether organisations like NGOs and charities, which do not lobby for others for money but are advancing agendas, should be covered. We are also consulting as to how, if at all, trade union activities should be covered.
The Government are clear that it is not our intention to propose that individuals taking up issues with Ministers, or companies discussing matters of mutual interest with Government should be covered by the requirement to register. These are vital democratic functions and covered by the disclosure requirement on Government Departments. We are interested in views on whether our definitions meet this objective.
Any proposals for a statutory register should not impinge on the ability of charities to lobby or on a constituent’s ability to lobby their own MP.
This is a complicated area, and we are hoping for a wide range of consultation responses to help us produce proposals which are proportionate and practical.