Correspondence to the Cabinet Office regarding Dominic Cummings' application to take on consulting work
Updated 7 September 2022
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1. BUSINESS APPOINTMENT APPLICATION: Dominic Cummings, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister - consulting work with [redacted]
I am writing to you with reference to Mr Cummings’ request for advice to work with [redacted].
The government’s Business Appointment Rules (the Rules), which apply by virtue of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, make it clear that employment/appointments should not be announced or taken up before receiving advice.
The Cabinet Office has submitted Mr Cummings’ completed application for advice to work with [redacted]. The Committee understands this work is consulting, to be carried out under a consultancy offering services which overlap with those Mr Cummings is already advertising online without first receiving the benefit of the Committee’s advice. This failure to seek and await the Committee’s advice was a breach of the Rules reported to the Cabinet Office [footnote 1] in July.
Mr Cummings has not provided the Committee with a response to its correspondence [footnote 2] in respect of the breach of the Rules. As you will know, the government’s business appointments system relies on the cooperation of applicants and departments. The Committee takes compliance with the Rules seriously, investigating and reporting any beaches where appropriate. This application to consult for [redacted] relates directly to his previous breach of the Rules and as a consequence the Committee refuses to provide advice on this occasion.
Before the committee would consider further applications from Mr Cummings it requires a full reply to our previous correspondence and written assurance of full cooperation with all future applications.
In line with our policy of transparency, we will be publishing our exchange of correspondence about this matter.