Decision

Summary of business appointments applications - Lord Prior

Updated 26 September 2018

Lord Prior left his role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in October 2017

1. Senior Advisor, Carnall Farrar

Lord Prior sought the Committee’s advice on taking up an appointment as a Senior Advisor at Carnall Farrar.

The letter containing the Committee’s consideration and the conditions imposed on the appointment was sent in June 2018 and the appointment was taken up in August 2018.

2. Senior Advisor, Lazard

The Committee was asked to consider an application for advice from Lord Prior for advice on becoming a Senior Adviser at Lazard, a paid role which would involve ½ a day per week.

Lord Prior said that he would advise on “general strategy.” He noted the appointment is not likely to include contact with Government.

The Committee has concluded there are no objective reasons for perceiving this appointment to be a reward for decisions made, or actions taken, while in office. The key factors in reaching this assessment are set out below:

• Archie Norman, the Chairman of Lazard, is lead Non-Executive Director of the BEIS board (appointed before Lord Prior became a Minister at BEIS). It is therefore unsurprising that they would have had regular contact.
• The BEIS Governance Secretariat has arrangements in place to prevent any conflict of interests between Mr Norman’s role as Chairman of Lazards and his role as NED on the BEIS board.
• While BEIS has had historical contracts with Lazard for financial advisory services (related to Hinkley Point C and the sale of Royal Mail) both contracts concluded before Lord Prior joined BEIS.
• There is no record within Lord Prior’s Ministerial diary of him having any official dealings with Lazard while he was a Minister at the Department of Health (DH).
• The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has informed the Committee that Lord Prior did not make any decisions that benefitted Lazard while at DH.

The Committee also considered whether Lord Prior’s employer could make improper use of official information to which he had access. BEIS has assessed that it is unlikely any of the commercially sensitive information that he would have had access to could offer a competitive advantage to Lazard because it is either no longer of significant relevance given the time that has passed since he left office or is high level and non-specific. DHSC has also confirmed that he does not have any commercially sensitive information about Lazard’s competitors.

Given the departmental responses, the Committee concluded it is unlikely that Lazard would stand to gain an advantage from employing Lord Prior, as a result of the information he was privy to as a Minister.

In this particular case, the Committee has taken account of the fact that, whilst he was a BEIS Minister, he would have had contact with its lead non-executive director, Archie Norman, who is also the Chairman at Lazard. In order to counter any possible public concern about the propriety of this appointment arising from such contact, the Committee considers that it would be appropriate for Lord Prior to observe a six-month waiting period from his last day in office.

In accordance with the Government’s Business Appointment Rules, the Committee advised the appointment be subject to the following conditions:

• that he should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of himself or the organisation to which this advice refers) any privileged information available to him from his time in Ministerial office;

• for two years from his last day in Ministerial office he should not provide advice to Lazard, London, or its subsidiaries or clients on the terms of a bid or contract relating directly to the work of the UK Government; and

• for two years from his last day in Ministerial office, he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of Lazard, London, or its subsidiaries or clients, or make use, directly or indirectly, of his contacts in Government and/or Crown service to influence policy or secure business on their behalf.

The Committee wrote its advice letter to Lord Prior in February 2018 and the appointment was announced in April 2018.

3. Chairman, University College of London Hospital Foundation Trust

The Committee was asked to provide advice to Lord Prior on an appointment as Chairman of the University College of London Hospital Foundation Trust (the Trust), a part-time, paid role.

The Committee considered information provided by Lord Prior and that sought from the Permanent Secretaries at each of the departments for which held Ministerial office (the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department of Health (DH)). This is set out in detail in the Committee’s advice letter.

The Committee took into account that Lord Prior planned to take up the post in January 2018 and although he will go straight from his Ministerial role at BEIS, 13 months will have passed since he was a Minister at DH. Further, DH confirmed he would have no particular influence or advantage to afford the Trust given the passage of time; and that it has no concerns about him taking up the post. The Committee also noted BEIS’s confirmation that there is nothing from his position in office there that would conflict with this role at the Trust.

The Committee noted this appointment is specifically related to a sector for which he had recently held Ministerial responsibility. However, it considered that any potential risks under the Government’s Business Appointment Rules that this could be perceived as a reward for his time in office; or for any advantage his time in office may provide to the Trust is reduced given his previous employment in the health sector, prior to becoming a Minister in 2015 (most recently as Chairman of the Care Quality Commission).

The Committee also wished to note that it is unusual to consider applications significantly in advance of the proposed start date of an appointment; and whilst an applicant remains in ministerial office. It therefore sought confirmation from Government on what action would be taken to manage any potential conflict of interest while he remained in ministerial office.

The Committee’s recommendation was made on the basis of the information provided; and on the understanding that whilst Lord Prior remained in office, he would have no relationship or dealings with the Trust or related matters.

In accordance with the Government’s Business Appointment Rules, the Committee advised that to mitigate against any remaining risk around this appointment, the following conditions should be imposed:

• that he should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of himself or the organisation to which this advice refers) any privileged information available to him from his time in Ministerial Office; and

• for two years from his last day in service, he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK Government on behalf of the University College of London Hospital Foundation Trust. This is not intended to prevent him from having routine contact with Government pursuant to his role as Chairman of the University College of London Hospital Foundation Trust or its partners. However, it would prevent him from making use, directly or indirectly, of privileged access derived from his role as a Minister to influence Government policy on behalf of the University College of London Hospital Foundation Trust or its partners.

The Committee wrote its advice letter to Lord Prior in September 2017 and the appointment was announced in October 2017.

Mark Addison recused himself from this case.