bringing transparency to lobbying

7/30/2019 Bringing Transparency to Lobbying

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Bringing transparency to lobbying

Alliance for Lobbying Transparency briefing note | February [email protected] | 07973 424 015

The government has promised to make lobbying transparent.But its current plans to open up the influence industry are a sham.

The problem with lobbyingAnyone can lobby government its what wedo when we voice our concerns to our MP.But this doesnt make us all lobbyists.

Lobbyists are people who are paid to influencegovernment decisions. Its big business in theUK, where the lobbying industry is worth2billion. Most of the money is spent by largecorporations, who court politicians and officialsand persuade them to delays laws andregulations or award them government

business, all to benefit their bottom line andoften against the public interest.

New transparency rules would allow us tosee the countless ways our lives are shapedby lobbyists. Wed see the size of the privatehealthcare lobby pushing for the current NHSreforms; who is persuading the governmentagainst reform of the banks; and which firmswant to get their hands on greenbelt land.

The immediate opportunityThe government is now asking for your viewson the extent to which the lobbying industryshould be opened up to scrutiny. Last monthit published a consultation on its proposalsfor a public register of lobbyists. Registersgenerally require lobbyists to regularly revealwho is lobbying whom and for what, and themoney spent on lobbying.

But the governments proposals for a registerof lobbyists are a sham. They want the new rulesto cover only a fraction less than a quarter ofthe industry; and dont want the register toreveal any meaningful information only thenames of those lobbying.

The government is now consulting on itsproposals, and wants to hear your views.

This is a rare opportunity to expose lobbying,and help change the back-room deal natureof politics.

Solution: a robust public register of lobbying

Lobbyists should be made to reveal:! Who is lobbying whom! What they are lobbying for! How much money is being

spent on lobbying

Rules must apply to all paid lobbyists:! Lobbyists-for-hire working on

behalf of clients

! Lobbyists employed bycompanies, trade bodies, andbusiness lobby groups

! Trade unions and large charities

We have three main concerns with thegovernments current plans:

1. The definition of who a lobbyist isis too narrow and excludes most ofthe industry

2. The plans will only require lobbyiststo register who they are, but nothingon their interaction with government,i.e. which officials they are lobbying,

and what they are seeking to influence3. The register must be publicly funded

so that alleged improprieties can beproperly investigated


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! There is no difference between theactivities of a lobbyist working in-house foran organisation and an agency lobbyist.

! In-house lobbyists make up the vast majorityof the lobbying industry; industry figuresshow that they outnumber agency lobbyistsby 4:1. The figures in the consultation, whichput the ratio at fewer than 1:2 are wrong.

! The current plans would exclude roughly2,500-3,000 lobbyists, in organisations fromTesco to Barclays, CBI to Greenpeace.

! Law firms, management consultants,accountancy firms and think tanks alsolobby for third parties and must be included.

! There is no evidence from registers overseasthat such a system deters people fromputting their views to government.

! The ultimate purpose of a lobbying registeris to increase government accountability byallowing the public to see lobbyists dealingswith officials. Therefore, it must include detailsof which public officials are being lobbied andwhat issues they are being lobbied on.

! Here the consultation is misleading: itsaccompanying Impact Assessment recognisesthat the registers purpose is to make publicwho is lobbying and on what issues. This hasbeen omitted from the Consultation Paperitself, which changes the registers purpose tomaking public who is lobbying and for whom.

! It is important to be able to see how muchmoney is being invested in lobbying: wedknow the spending gap between, forexample, business and civil society groups,or multi-nationals and non-profits lobbying

for government contracts. Lobbying is atactical investment for business: US figuressuggest that for every dollar spent onlobbying a company can expect $100 return.

Detailed response to the government consultation:Introducing a Statutory Register of Lobbyists

Who should be included on the register? and why

We believe that allpaid lobbyists should berequired to register, not just those working onbehalf of third parties, i.e. agency lobbyists.

This requires a robust definition of whatconstitutes lobbying. ALT suggests a lobbyistis anyone paid to:! Arrange or facilitate contact with officials! Communicate with officials to influence

legislation, regulation, or government policy,

and for government contracts and grants! Work in support of the above.1

Lobbying by a member of the public, whichis unpaid, or lobbying of an MP by a constituentwould be exempt. We are also calling for smallbusinesses and smaller charities to be exempt.

1.For a more detailed definition, and a fuller list ofexemptions, see ALTs Essential Provisions for a StatutoryRegisterdocument at www.lobbyingtransparency.org

Information to be included in the register and why

We believe lobbyists should be required toprovide details of their lobbying activities anddealings with government, not just who theyare as the government is proposing.Specifically, the lobbying register shouldmake public:

! The organisation lobbying;! Name of individual lobbyist(s);! Information on any public office held

by the lobbyist in the past five years(capturing the revolving-door);

! Public body being lobbied;! Name of public official with whom

contact has been made (senior civilservant and above);

! Summary of what is being lobbied on,whether legislation, regulation orpolicy, or government contract or grant;

! Amount of money spent on lobbying

(a good faith estimate).


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! Lobbying is an essential part of a healthydemocracy when it is open to public scrutiny.There must be no financial barrier to anyone

wanting to lobby in a transparent way.

! A lobbying register could pay for itself byimproving government accountability.Public money can be misspent as aconsequence of well-funded lobbying. AsDavid Cameron says: Governmentcontracts worth hundreds of billions ofpounds are potentially at stake.

! New rules are only as good as themonitoring and enforcement that goes with

them. The body running the register mustbe given sufficient funds to adequatelymonitor its accuracy and enforce sanctions.

Who should run the register, how shouldit be funded, and how should it be policed? and whyWe agree with the government that the registershould be run by an independent body. But wethink it must be publicly funded, not financed bylobbyists, as the government proposes.

We believe the Electoral Commission wouldbe an ideal candidate to run the register as italready oversees the party funding registersand is trusted by the public. The lobbyingregister could be added to its remit, alongwith sufficient public funds to operate, monitorand enforce the new rules. This would avoidthe need to create and fund a separate body.

We also agree with the government that

penalties for failure to comply with the newrules should include fines, and the possibility ofcriminal prosecution for more serious offences,like knowingly and corruptly failing to comply.

How often, and how should lobbyists register?

We believe registration should take placewithin 14 days of a lobbying agencybeginning a contract for a client, or a month

of an organisation starting to lobby on an issue.

The organisation, whether an agency,company, trade body, union or charity,should be responsible for registering, listingindividual lobbyists. Agencies should makeone filing per client.

The register must be publicly available online(and in hard copy), and be searchable, sortableand downloadable. See sample filing over.

TAKE ACTION

Tell the government that their current planswill not expose professional lobbying tomuch-needed public scrutiny.

They want to know your views on:1. Who should be included in the register?

and how should lobbyists be defined?2. What information should be included?

and should it include how much is spent?3. How often should it be updated?4. Who should run the register?5. How should it be funded?6. What sanctions should apply?

Please email your response to:

[email protected]

Or send them to:Statutory Register of Lobbyists

Area 4/S1, 1 Horse Guards RoadLondon, SW1A 2HQ

Deadline for submissions is 13 April 2012

The governments consultation paper:Introducing a Statutory Register ofLobbyists can be downloaded at:

www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/constitutional-reform

Join us, or find out more

If you belong to an organisation thatsupports ALTs views on a lobbyistsregister, join our coalition for real reform.

To add your support, or for moreinformation, please get in touch withTamasin Cave of ALT:

[email protected] | 07973 424 015www.lobbyingtransparency.org


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Lobbying register sample filing:Unlock Democracy, member of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency

Registrants details

Lobbying activity details

2. Lobbying activity details

Name of individual(s) who acted as a lobbyist

Financial value of lobbying

Registrants name: Unlock Democracy...

Organisation (commercial) Organisation (no t-for-profit) Lobb ying Firm Self Employed Indi vidu al Coalition

Address: 6-9 Cynthia Street ...............London .. Post Code: N1 9JF...

Contact name: Peter Facey (Director) Tel: 020 7278 4443 email: [email protected]

Lobbying on behalf on: Unlock Democracy... ID: Company no. 02440899Client name if lobb yin g on behalf of a third party, or registrants name if in-ho use Compan y / Charity number (if applicable)

! Issue(s) lobbied on:

Political and constitutional reform issues, including: introduction of a statutory register of lobbyists; House ofLords reform; individual elector registration; and party funding

! Government departments and agencies lobbied:

Parliament; Cabinet Office

! Public official(s) with whom contact has been made (senior civil servant and above):Nick Clegg, DPM;Mark Harper, Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform; Peter Lee (CO)

Lobbyist(s) name: Any public office held in past 5 years

Peter Facey........... ..........................Alexandra Runswick... ..............Steve Shaw.... ..............

Date of filing:2012. 1.Year Quarter

Client income:Information to be provided by third party lob byist named above asregistrant: goo d faith estimate, to the nearest 10 00, of all lobbyin g

related income from the client in t his quarter.

:.....

Lobbying expenses:Good faith estimate of expenses relating to lobbying activities undertaken bythe registrant for this quarter.

: 21,600.....

! Issue(s) lobbied on:

Sustainable Communities Act

! Government departments and agencies lobbied:

Parliament; Department for Communities and Local Government

! Public official with whom contact has been made

Greg Clark, Minister of State for Decentralisation; Hulya Mustafa (DCLG)

bringing transparency to lobbying

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