Advice Letter: Mark Sedwill, Member of the Council, Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Updated 4 May 2022
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June 2021
1. BUSINESS APPOINTMENT APPLICATION: Lord Mark Sedwill KCMG FRGS, Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Lord Mark Sedwill, former Cabinet Secretary and National Security Advisor, has sought advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (the Committee) under the government’s Business Appointments Rules for former Crown servants (the Rules) on an appointment he wishes to take up with Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) as a Member of the Council. The material information taken into consideration by the Committee is set out in the annex.
The purpose of the Rules is to protect the integrity of the government. Under the Rules, the Committee’s remit is to consider the risks associated with the actions and decisions made during time in office, alongside the information and influence a former Crown servant may offer RNLI.
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 advice
When considering this application, the Committee [footnote 2] took into account this role as a Member of the Council is unpaid [footnote 3] . Generally, the Committee’s experience is that the risks related to unpaid roles are limited. The purpose of the Rules is to protect the integrity of the government by considering the real and perceived risks associated with former Crown servants using privileged access to contacts and information to the benefit of themselves or those they represent; and to mitigate the risks that individuals may make decisions or take action in office to in expectation of rewards, on leaving government. These risks are significantly limited in unpaid cases due to the lack of financial gain to the individual.
The Committee took into account that while in office, Lord Sedwill was previously Chair of The Lifeboat Fund, the Civil and Public Service charity which supports the RNLI, and this work was unrelated to Lord Sedwill’s official responsibilities. The Committee also noted there is no funding relationship between RNLI and government, and Lord Sedwill had no involvement in any funding or policy decisions directly affecting RNLI.
The Committee did not consider this appointment raised any particular proprietary concerns under the government’s Rules. The standard conditions below, preventing him from drawing on his privileged information and using his contacts to the unfair advantage of their new employer, will sufficiently mitigate the risks in this case.
Taking into account these factors, in accordance with the government’s Business Appointment Rules, the Committee advises this appointment with Royal National Lifeboat Institution be subject to the following conditions:
- he should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of himself or the persons or organisations to which this advice refers) any privileged information available to him from his time in Crown service;
- for two years from his last day in Crown service, he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK government on behalf of Royal National Lifeboat Institution (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); nor should he make use, directly or indirectly, of his contacts in the government and/or Crown service to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage of Royal National Lifeboat Institution (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); and
- for two years from his last day in Crown service he should not undertake any work with Royal National Lifeboat Institution (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.
Lord Sedwill must inform us as soon as he takes up employment with this organisation(s), or if it is announced that he will do so and we will publish this letter on our website.
Any failure to do so may lead to a false assumption being made about whether he has complied with the Rules.
Lord Sedwill must inform us if he proposes to extend or otherwise change the nature of his role as, depending on the circumstances, it may be necessary for him to make a fresh application.
Once the appointment(s) has been publicly announced or taken up, we will publish this letter on the Committee’s website and where appropriate refer to in the annual report.
3. Annex - Material information
4. The role
The RNLI is an international charity providing rescue assistance to those at sea or affected by flooding. The website states RNLI is ‘…a world-leading modern emergency service’ aiming to ‘move closer to a world where no one drowns’. It states it does this in three different ways:
- Maintaining over 430 lifeboats across 238 UK lifeboat stations, housing volunteer crew;
- Working with global leaders through its overseas projects to provide inexpensive solutions to the international drowning crisis; and
- Carrying out search and rescue operations wherever severe flooding puts lives at risk.
Lord Sedwill said his role as a Member of the Council will involve providing advice to the Trustees and Executive Team on the charity’s strategic direction and challenges. He does not expect his role to involve contact with government.
5. Dealings in office
Lord Sedwill confirmed he did not meet with RNLI while in post. Lord Sedwill also confirmed he did not have any involvement in policy relevant to RNLI nor did he make any decisions affecting RNLI while in post. He also said he did not have access to sensitive information relevant to RNLI and did not meet with competitors of RNLI.
6. Department Assessment
Cabinet Office confirmed the details given in Lord Sedwill’s application and stated it had no commercial relationship with RNLI. The RNLI receives no UK government funding and the department has said less than 2% of the RNLI’s total funding comes from private funding from government employees. It also stated Lord Sedwill’s work as Chairman of the Lifeboat Fund whilst in office, was not related to his official responsibilities.
The department had no concerns with regards to this application and recommended the standard conditions.
Advisers, The Queen’s Regulations and the Diplomatic Service Code
Isabel Doverty; Dr Susan Liautaud; The Rt Hon Lord Pickles; Richard Thomas; Mike Weir; Lord Larry Whitty.
must declare where it is agreed or anticipated they may receive remuneration or some other compensation at some stage in the future.