Bringing transparency to lobbying

Alliance for Lobbying Transparency briefing note | February 2012 Tamasin@spinwatch.org | 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 lobbying
Anyone can lobby government its what we do when we voice our concerns to our MP. But this doesnt make us all lobbyists. Lobbyists are people who are paid to influence government decisions. Its big business in the UK, where the lobbying industry is worth 2billion. Most of the money is spent by large corporations, who court politicians and officials and persuade them to delays laws and regulations or award them government business, all to benefit their bottom line and often against the public interest. New transparency rules would allow us to see the countless ways our lives are shaped by lobbyists. Wed see the size of the private healthcare lobby pushing for the current NHS reforms; who is persuading the government against reform of the banks; and which firms want to get their hands on greenbelt land.

The immediate opportunity

The government is now asking for your views on the extent to which the lobbying industry should be opened up to scrutiny. Last month it published a consultation on its proposals for a public register of lobbyists. Registers generally require lobbyists to regularly reveal who is lobbying whom and for what, and the money spent on lobbying. But the governments proposals for a register of lobbyists are a sham. They want the new rules to cover only a fraction less than a quarter of the industry; and dont want the register to reveal any meaningful information only the names of those lobbying. The government is now consulting on its proposals, and wants to hear your views. This is a rare opportunity to expose lobbying, and help change the back-room deal nature of 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 by companies, trade bodies, and business lobby groups ! Trade unions and large charities

We have three main concerns with the governments current plans: 1. The definition of who a lobbyist is is too narrow and excludes most of the industry 2. The plans will only require lobbyists to register who they are, but nothing on their interaction with government, i.e. which officials they are lobbying, and what they are seeking to influence 3. The register must be publicly funded so that alleged improprieties can be properly investigated

Detailed response to the government consultation:

Introducing a Statutory Register of Lobbyists

Who should be included on the register?

We believe that all paid lobbyists should be required to register, not just those working on behalf of third parties, i.e. agency lobbyists. This requires a robust definition of what constitutes lobbying. ALT suggests a lobbyist is 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, which is unpaid, or lobbying of an MP by a constituent would be exempt. We are also calling for small businesses and smaller charities to be exempt.
1.

and why
! There is no difference between the activities of a lobbyist working in-house for an organisation and an agency lobbyist. In-house lobbyists make up the vast majority of the lobbying industry; industry figures show that they outnumber agency lobbyists by 4:1. The figures in the consultation, which put the ratio at fewer than 1:2 are wrong. The current plans would exclude roughly 2,500-3,000 lobbyists, in organisations from Tesco to Barclays, CBI to Greenpeace. Law firms, management consultants, accountancy firms and think tanks also lobby for third parties and must be included. There is no evidence from registers overseas that such a system deters people from putting their views to government.

For a more detailed definition, and a fuller list of exemptions, see ALTs Essential Provisions for a Statutory Register document at www.lobbyingtransparency.org

Information to be included in the register

We believe lobbyists should be required to provide details of their lobbying activities and dealings with government, not just who they are as the government is proposing. Specifically, the lobbying register should make 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 civil servant and above); Summary of what is being lobbied on, whether legislation, regulation or policy, or government contract or grant; Amount of money spent on lobbying (a good faith estimate). !

and why
The ultimate purpose of a lobbying register is to increase government accountability by allowing the public to see lobbyists dealings with officials. Therefore, it must include details of which public officials are being lobbied and what issues they are being lobbied on. Here the consultation is misleading: its accompanying Impact Assessment recognises that the registers purpose is to make public who is lobbying and on what issues. This has been omitted from the Consultation Paper itself, which changes the registers purpose to making public who is lobbying and for whom. It is important to be able to see how much money is being invested in lobbying: wed know the spending gap between, for example, business and civil society groups, or multi-nationals and non-profits lobbying for government contracts. Lobbying is a tactical investment for business: US figures suggest that for every dollar spent on lobbying a company can expect $100 return.

Who should run the register, how should it be funded, and how should it be policed?
We agree with the government that the register should be run by an independent body. But we think it must be publicly funded, not financed by lobbyists, as the government proposes. We believe the Electoral Commission would be an ideal candidate to run the register as it already oversees the party funding registers and is trusted by the public. The lobbying register could be added to its remit, along with sufficient public funds to operate, monitor and enforce the new rules. This would avoid the need to create and fund a separate body. We also agree with the government that penalties for failure to comply with the new rules should include fines, and the possibility of criminal prosecution for more serious offences, like knowingly and corruptly failing to comply. !

and why
Lobbying is an essential part of a healthy democracy 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 by improving government accountability. Public money can be misspent as a consequence of well-funded lobbying. As David Cameron says: Government contracts worth hundreds of billions of pounds are potentially at stake. New rules are only as good as the monitoring and enforcement that goes with them. The body running the register must be given sufficient funds to adequately monitor its accuracy and enforce sanctions.

How often, and how should lobbyists register?

We believe registration should take place within 14 days of a lobbying agency beginning 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, listing individual lobbyists. Agencies should make one filing per client. The register must be publicly available online (and in hard copy), and be searchable, sortable and downloadable. See sample filing over.

TAKE ACTION
Tell the government that their current plans will not expose professional lobbying to much-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: registerlobbyists@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk Or send them to: Statutory Register of Lobbyists Area 4/S1, 1 Horse Guards Road London, SW1A 2HQ Deadline for submissions is 13 April 2012 The governments consultation paper: Introducing a Statutory Register of Lobbyists can be downloaded at: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/constitutionalreform

Join us, or find out more

If you belong to an organisation that supports ALTs views on a lobbyists register, join our coalition for real reform. To add your support, or for more information, please get in touch with Tamasin Cave of ALT: Tamasin@Spinwatch.org | 07973 424 015 www.lobbyingtransparency.org

Lobbying register sample filing:

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

2012.
Year

1.
Quarter

Registrants details Registrants name:

Unlock Democracy...
Organisation (commercial) Organisation (not-for-profit) Lobbying Firm Self Employed Individual Coalition

Address: 6-9 Cynthia Street ............... London .. Post Code: N1 9JF... Contact name: Peter Facey (Director) Tel: 020 7278 4443 ID: email: info@unlockdemocracy.org.uk

Lobbying on behalf on: Unlock Democracy...

Client name if lobbying on behalf of a third party, or registrants name if in-house

Company no. 02440899

Company / Charity number (if applicable)

Lobbying activity details ! Issue(s) lobbied on:

Political and constitutional reform issues, including: introduction of a statutory register of lobbyists; House of 2. Lobbying details Lords reform;activity 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)
! 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)

Name of individual(s) who acted as a lobbyist Lobbyist(s) name:

Any public office held in past 5 years

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

Financial value of lobbying

.......................... .............. ..............

Client income:
Information to be provided by third party lobbyist named above as registrant: good faith estimate, to the nearest 1000, of all lobbying related income from the client in this quarter.

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

:..... 4

: 21,600.....