Decision

Advice Letter: Elizabeth Perelman, Chief Executive Officer, The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak

Published 17 March 2025

1. BUSINESS APPOINTMENT APPLICATION: Elizabeth Perelman, Director General for Public Service Reform and Efficiency and former Principal Private Secretary to the PM at the Cabinet Office. Paid appointment with The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak.

Miss Perelman sought advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (the Committee) under the government’s Business Appointment Rules for Former Crown Servants (the Rules) on taking up appointment as the Chief Executive Officer at The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak.

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 Miss Perelman’s time in office, alongside the information and influence she could offer her new employer. 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 Rules^{[footnote 1]} set out that Crown servants must abide by the Committee’s advice. It is an applicant’s personal responsibility to manage the propriety of any appointment. Former Crown servants 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

As Chief Executive Officer, Miss Perelman’s role is to oversee all the work undertaken by The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak, including their public and charitable endeavours. There is no specific overlap with Miss Perelman’s responsibilities and decision-making at the Cabinet Office. Therefore, the Committee^{[footnote 2]} considered there is no evidence of reward in relation to Miss Perelman’s role in office.    

There is no direct overlap between Miss Perelman’s access to information and this new role. However, Miss Perelman had access to a broad range of privileged information whilst in office. The Committee noted that whilst Miss Perelman remained in office for several months after the former Prime Minister left office, but agreed with the Cabinet Office the risks associated with her access to this information are limited because:

• there is no known information of relevance to the interests of the organisation she intends to join; and
• it has been five months since she was PPS to the current Prime Minister. The Committee notes that much of that information from that time is also likely in the public domain or has moved on.

3. The Committee’s advice

The Committee determined the risks identified in this application can be appropriately mitigated by the standard conditions below. These make it clear that Miss Perelman cannot make use of information or influence gained from her time in Crown service to the unfair advantage of The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak.

In accordance with the government’s Business Appointment Rules, the Committee advises this appointment with The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak be subject to the following conditions:

• she should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of herself or the persons or organisations to which this advice refers) any privileged information available to her from her time in Crown service;

• for two years from her last day in Crown service, she should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK government or any of its arm’s length bodies on behalf of The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); nor should she make use, directly or indirectly, of her contacts in the government and/or Crown service contacts to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); and

• for two years from her last day in Crown service, she should not provide advice to The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients) 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 any of its arm’s length bodies; and

The advice and the conditions under the government’s Business Appointment Rules relate to an applicant’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 3]} 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 or Crown servant 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 Ministerial Code/Civil Service Code or otherwise.

The Business Appointment Rules explain that the restriction on lobbying means that the former Crown servant ‘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.’

Miss Perelman must inform us as soon as she takes up this work or if it is announced that she will do so. Similarly, she must inform us if she proposes to extend or otherwise change her role with the organisation as depending on the circumstances, it might be necessary for her to seek fresh advice.

Once this appointment has been publicly announced or taken up, we will publish this letter on the Committee’s website.

4. Annex – Material information

4.1 The role

The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak was set up to support Akshata Murty and the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP (the former Prime Minister) in their work and public or charitable endeavours. Miss Perelman said the specifics of the office’s focus are yet to be confirmed.

Miss Perelman said that as CEO she will have oversight of all the work undertaken by The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak, including their public and charitable endeavours.

Miss Perelman said there would be no contact with government in this role.

4.2 Dealings in office

Miss Perelman said that there is no overlap with her roles at the Cabinet Office and this role for The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak.

Miss Perelman stated she did not meet with The Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak in an official capacity, but knows the founders personally and has had personal contact with them.

4.3 Departmental assessment

The Cabinet Office confirmed the details provided by Miss Perelman above and stated that she had access to the following:

• a wide range of policy and departmental position while PPS to Rishi Sunak – it did not consider this would offer an unfair insight/advantage;
• a more limited range of sensitive information for the brief period in which she was PPS to Keir Starmer – it considered the risks associated with this information are mitigated by three factors:
• she was in the role for less than three months (July to September 2024);
• she was on leave for a significant part of that period;
• the information would not be of relevance to the organisation she intends to join;
• information on public sector reform policy development since September 2024 – the department said this information is not relevant to the organisation Miss Perelman intends to join.

The Cabinet Office recommended the standard conditions.

1. Which apply by virtue of the Civil Service Management Code, The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, The King’s Regulations and the Diplomatic Service Code. ↩

2. This application for advice was considered by Andrew Cumpsty; Isabel Doverty; Hedley Finn OBE; Dawid Konotey-Ahulu CBE DL; The Rt Hon Lord Eric Pickles; Michael Prescott; and Mike Weir. Sarah de Gay and Baroness Thornton were unavailable. ↩

3. All Peers and Members of Parliament are prevented from paid lobbying under the House of Commons Code of Conduct and the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Lords. Advice on obligations under the Code can be sought from the Parliamentary Commissioners for Standards, in the case of MPs, or the Registrar of Lords’ Interests, in the case of peers. ↩