Decision

Summary of business appointments applications - Mark Hoban

Updated 29 September 2015

Mark Hoban left his role as Minister for Employment, Department for Work and Pensions, in October 2013.

1. Senior Adviser, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

Mr Hoban sought the Committee’s advice about accepting a part-time, paid appointment with PwC as a Senior Adviser.

When considering this application, the Committee noted that Mr Hoban had no contact with PwC whilst he was Treasury Minister and that as a by-product of PwC’s internal audit work at DWP, he knew about some of the specific projects they did for the Department. The Committee also considered that in the course of Mr Hoban’s Ministerial duties at DWP he had some official dealings with Deloitte, co-owners of Ingeus, who are competitors of PwC. However the Committee noted PwC were not involved with this area of work and that Deloitte has also sold its interest in Ingeus.

Furthermore the Committee noted that this role does not require Mr Hoban to lobby government.

Taking into account all the circumstances, the Committee is content to approve the appointment subject to the following conditions:

• that he should not draw on any privileged information available to him as a Minister; and

• for two years from her last day in ministerial office, he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his new employer, its parent company or its clients.

The Committee wrote its advice letter to Mr Hoban in January 2015 and he took up the role in September 2015.

2. Non Executive Director, London Stock Exchange (LSE)

Mr Hoban sought permission to accept a role as a non executive director of LSE. The Committee noted that as Financial Secretary Mr Hoban had had responsibility for financial services policy, which included that which affected LSE and its competitors, but that he had not had access to any commercially sensitive information.

The Committee advised Mr Hoban that it saw no reason why he should not take up the appointment, subject to the following conditions:

• He should not draw on any privileged information available to him from his time in Government; and

• For two years from his last day in ministerial office he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his new employer, its parent company or its clients.

The Committee wrote its advice letter to Mr Hoban in January 2015 and the appointment was announced in February 2015.

3. Chair, Flood Re

Mr Hoban sought permission to accept a role as Chair of Flood Re, a not-for-profit flood reinsurance fund, owned and managed by the insurance industry.

The Committee noted that while Financial Secretary Mr Hoban had had contact with a range of insurers, as part of the development of financial services policy, but that he did not deal with flood insurance policy and did not have any official dealings with any competitors of Flood Re.

The Committee advised Mr Hoban that it saw no reason why he should not take up the appointment, subject to the following conditions:

• He should not draw on any privileged information available to him from his time in Government; and

• For two years from his last day in ministerial office he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his new employer, its parent company or its clients.

The Committee wrote its advice letter to Mr Hoban in January 2015 and the appointment was announced in February 2015.

Baroness Browning recused herself due to an ongoing interest in the impact of Flood Re.

4. Senior Adviser, Markit Limited

Mr Hoban sought permission to accept a role as a Senior Adviser to Markit Limited, a provider of financial services information. The Committee noted that he had spoken at Markit’s conference while a Minister, and had met with some of their competitors, but that he had not been involved in any policy decisions to the exclusive benefit of Markit, nor had he had access to any commercially sensitive information about them or their competitors. They also took into account that he had left ministerial office over a year earlier.

The Committee advised Mr Hoban that it saw no reason why he should not take up the appointment subject to the conditions that:

• He should not draw on any privileged information available to him from his time in Government; and

• For two years from his last day in ministerial office he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his new employer, its parent company or its clients.

The Committee wrote its advice letter to Mr Hoban in November 2014 and he took up the appointment in December 2014.