Decision

ACOBA Advice Letter - Lord Darren Mott - Conservative Party

Updated 11 June 2024

1. BUSINESS APPOINTMENT APPLICATION: Lord Darren Mott OBE, former Government Whip in the House of Lords. Paid appointment with the Conservative Party.

You sought advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (the Committee) under the government’s Business Appointments Rules for Former Ministers (the Rules) on taking up an appointment with the Conservative Party as an Adviser. 

The purpose of the Rules is to protect the integrity of the government. The Committee has considered the risks associated with the actions and decisions made during your time in office, alongside the information and influence a former minister may offer the Conservative Party. The material information taken into consideration by the Committee is set out in the annex.

The Committee’s advice is not an endorsement of the appointment – it imposes a number of conditions to mitigate the potential risks to the government associated with the appointment under the Rules.

The Ministerial Code sets out that ministers must abide by the Committee’s advice. It is an applicant’s personal responsibility to manage the propriety of any appointment. Former ministers of the Crown, and Members of Parliament, are expected to uphold the highest standards of propriety and act in accordance with the 7 Principles of Public Life.

2. The Committee’s consideration of the risks presented

Naturally you had dealings with the Conservative Party in your capacity as government whip and as an affiliated member of the House of Lords. There is no evidence you made decisions or took action in office that favoured the Conservative Party in expectation of this role. The prospective employer here is also your former employer of many years prior to your becoming a minister. Therefore, the Committee^{[footnote 1]} considered the risk that this appointment could reasonably be perceived as a reward for decisions made or actions taken in office to be low. 

As a former minister, there are inherent risks associated with your access to privileged information and knowledge. However, the usual considerations around an applicant’s access to information and whether it could grant the prospective employer unfair advantage are largely redundant, as it is highly unlikely you had access to any information unavailable to the employer. The Cabinet Office confirmed that it had no concerns regarding your access to information. 

The Committee considered any risks associated with your influence and network of contacts in government to be minimal. There is no risk of unfair commercial gain, and little risk of being seen to have had undue influence in future contracts with/or funding from government. Similarly, the risks around lobbying are low, given the nature of the role described as being to give strategic advice to party officials at Conservative Campaign Headquarters to aid grassroots campaigning and stakeholder management (i.e. candidates & elected officials).  

3. The Committee’s advice 

You clearly state you will not be involved in lobbying and this is not the focus of the role. The standard conditions which are set out below prevent you from doing so, including indirectly through contacts you have gained as a minister. 

In accordance with the government’s Business Appointment Rules, the Committee advises that this role with the Conservative Party be subject to the following conditions:

• you should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of yourself or the persons or organisations to which this advice refers) any privileged information available to you from your time in ministerial office;

• for two years from your last day in ministerial office, you should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK government or its arm’s length bodies on behalf of the Conservative Party (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); nor should you make use, directly or indirectly, of your contacts in the government and/or Crown service to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage the Conservative Party (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); and

• for two years from your last day in ministerial office you should not undertake any work with the Conservative Party (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients) that involves providing advice on the terms of, or with regard to the subject matter of a bid with, or contract relating directly to the work of, the UK government or its arm’s length bodies.

The advice and the conditions under the government’s Business Appointment Rules relate to an individual’s previous role in government only; they are separate from rules administered by other bodies such as the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Registrar of Lords’ Interests.^{[footnote 2]} You are reminded that as a Member of the House of Lords you are prevented from any paid lobbying under the House of Lords Code of Conduct. It is an applicant’s personal responsibility to understand any other rules and regulations they may be subject to in parallel with this Committee’s advice.

By ‘privileged information’ we mean official information to which a Minister has had access as a consequence of his or her office or employment and which has not been made publicly available. Applicants are also reminded that they may be subject to other duties of confidentiality, whether under the Official Secrets Act, the Civil Service Code or otherwise.

The Business Appointment Rules explain that the restriction on lobbying means that the former minister “should not engage in communication with government (ministers, civil servants, including special advisers, and other relevant officials/public office holders) – wherever it takes place - with a view to influencing a government decision, policy or contract award/grant in relation to their own interests or the interests of the organisation by which they are employed, or to whom they are contracted or with which they hold office.” This Rule is separate and not a replacement for the Rules in the House.

You must inform us as soon as you take up this role, or if it is announced that you will do so. You must also inform us if you propose to extend or otherwise change the nature of your role as, depending on the circumstances, it may be necessary for you to make a fresh application.

Once the appointment has been publicly announced or taken up, we will publish this letter on the Committee’s website, and where appropriate, refer to it in the relevant annual report.

4. Annex - Material Information 

4.1 The role

The Conservative Party is a political party registered with the Electoral Commission, and the current governing party. It is also your former employer of over 30 years, prior to your becoming government whip.

You said your paid role will be as Adviser, giving strategic advice to party officials at Conservative Campaign Headquarters to aid grassroots campaigning and stakeholder management (candidates & elected officials). You will work part-time, on an ad hoc basis.

4.2 Dealings in office

You had dealings with the Conservative Party whilst in office as government whip, by virtue of your party affiliation and the nature of your role as whip being to represent the governing party in the House of Lords. You did not have any involvement in policy, regulatory or commercial decisions that would have been specific to the Conservative Party as a political party organisation.

4.3 Departmental Assessment 

The Cabinet Office confirmed the details you provided, confirmed that it had no any concerns regarding your access to information and recommended the role be approved subject to the standard conditions.

1. This application for advice was considered by Andrew Cumpsty; Sarah de Gay; Isabel Doverty; Hedley Finn OBE; The Rt Hon Baroness Jones of Whitchurch; The Rt Hon Lord Pickles; Michael Prescott; and Michael Weir. Dawid Konotey-Ahulu CBE DL was absent. ↩

2. All Peers and Members of Parliament are prevented from paid lobbying under the the House of Commons Code of Conduct and the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Lords. Advice on your obligations under the Code can be sought from the Registrar of Lords’ Interests. ↩