Correspondence from ACOBA to Mark Fletcher, breach of the Rules (Feedback Medical)
Published 19 February 2025
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Dear Mark,
Thank you for your correspondence to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) about your role with Feedback Medical.
Under the Ministerial Code and the government’s Business Appointment Rules (the Rules) all former Ministers are obligated to seek advice for two years after leaving office. The Code states that ‘Former ministers must ensure that no new appointments or employment are taken up, before ACOBA is able to provide its advice’.
You informed ACOBA you took up paid employment with Feedback Medical on 2 December 2024. You said there were challenging personal circumstances as you closed down your Parliamentary office and said it was only once you started in the role with Feedback Medical you realised you should contact ACOBA.
You acknowledged this was an error on your part and apologised. You added that this sector for which you worked prior to joining parliament as an MP and that you were returning to work for your previous boss. You said that in your role as Assistant Government Whip minister between November 2023 and July 2024 you worked with the Cabinet Office and the Department for Energy and Net Zero - which had no overlap with the medical tech sector.
The Rules are a set of principles which exist to protect the integrity of government. This is impossible to do credibly after someone has taken on a role. Whilst there may be little or no overlap with your time as Assistant Government Whip, you have moved to a role in external affairs. The potential risk you may offer unfair influence within government on behalf of your new employer is the kind of risk to the integrity of government that the Rules are designed to protect. Had you sought advice before joining the company, a risk assessment would have been carried out in relation to this role and the appropriate conditions would have been made clear to you, your employer and the public.
Applicants have a personal responsibility to understand and comply with the Rules and to manage the propriety of appointments taken up after leaving government service. Failure to seek and await advice in this case was a breach of the government’s Rules and the requirements set out in the Ministerial Code.
Please see the correspondence enclosed, reporting this matter to the government, as the owners of the Rules. In line with ACOBA’s commitment to transparency, the exchange of correspondence will be published on our website.
The Rt Hon Lord Pickles