Summary of business appointments applications - Stephen Gooding
Published 20 April 2015
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Stephen Gooding will be leaving his role as a Director General in the Department for Transport in late April/early May 2015.
1. Director, RAC Foundation
Stephen Gooding sought advice on accepting a role as Director of the RAC Foundation, an independent charity that publishes research designed to promote informed debate and advocate policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.
When considering this application the Committee noted that Mr Gooding has had prior dealings with the RAC Foundation, as they are an organisation DfT routinely consults about research and who are used as a sounding board, in the same way as academics researching transport issues. As such, his new role would be likely to involve contact with DfT along these lines.
However, the Committee also noted that there is no financial relationship between the Foundation and DfT; DfT has never commissioned work from them and the Foundation has an endowment that supplies its funding.
The Prime Minister accepted the Committee’s recommendation that the application be approved, subject to the conditions that:
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Mr Gooding should not draw on privileged information available to him as a Crown servant; and
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for two years from his last day in Crown service, Mr Gooding should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of his new employer on its clients.
However, having due regard for the lobbying ban does not prevent communications with Government on matters that are an integral part of the normal course of business of the RAC Foundation.
The letter containing the final decision was sent in February 2015 and the appointment was announced in March 2015.