Lobbyists' code of conduct bill to be debated for first time in parliament

Private member's bill unlikely to succeed but will put pressure on government to publish its own bill to curb lobbying



Lobbyists working in Westminster or local government would have to sign a public register and agree to a code of conduct under a bill being debated for the first time in parliament on Friday.

The private member's bill is unlikely to become law but will be seen as a stalking horse for promised legislation from the government, which will be under increased pressure to publish its own bill, possibly in the next few months before the end of this parliamentary session.

Thomas Docherty, a former lobbyist and Labour MP who has proposed the bill, said meetings with Chloe Smith, the Conservative Cabinet Office minister responsible, had been "very constructive" and there was only one significant area of disagreement between them.

Under Docherty's commercial lobbyists bill, lobbyists working directly for a company or charity, or for a third-party agency on their behalf, would all have to sign a register, including their name and company. Ministers apparently want to include only those working for lobbying agencies, naming their clients, but not "in-house" lobbyists.

Doherty's bill also proposes those on the register should sign a new code of conduct, including clear instructions they cannot arrange meetings under false pretences or misrepresent their relationship to clients, with the threat of being fined or even struck off by a new governing body if they broke the rules – something ministers are now under pressure to include in the government's draft bill. And under another clause peers would not be able to do any lobbying in parliament, or advise companies doing so.

The latest push for regulation of the multimillion pound industry follows years of lobbying scandals among ministers, MPs taking cash for questions and in the House of Lords, and growing concern about the underlying growth of the power and scale of influence of lobbyists in Westminster, Whitehall and local councils.

"It's an absolutely huge industry: there are thousands of people I'd argue, it's a billion pound industry in this country," said Docherty, who previously lobbied for the nuclear and railway industry and on behalf of developers. "Lobbying is part of our democratic process, and a good thing, but it can't be allowed to go unchecked."

Last year the Cabinet Office published a consultation on their proposal for a register, following the coalition agreement, which was widely welcomed but criticised for not providing any definition of lobbying or lobbyists, and not including in-house operators in its remit. Ministers argued that the government already published details of meetings between companies and ministers, so those were transparent, but the register of third-party lobbyists would help open up government because meetings with those lobbyists could be cross-referenced with the register to see who they were working for.

The proposals were strongly criticised by, among others, the cross-party constitutional and political reform committee of MPs, who reported: "The government's definition of a lobbyist is considered to be too narrow and potentially unworkable by lobbyists, academics, charities and transparency campaigners alike." They urged ministers to widen the scope of lobbyists who would be covered by the regulation, and publish meetings with ministers more frequently and in a way that was easier to access.

Critics have also pointed out that meetings are only published with ministers and special advisors, not ministerial aides or other MPs.

The Cabinet Office said: "We're actively pursuing the agenda and will publish revised proposals in due course."

http://m.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/feb/01/lobbyists-code-conduct-bill-debated