The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee wants to see the civil service code amended to prevent potential conflicts of interest as government pushes for greater interchange between public and private sectors

MPs have called on government to amend the civil service code so that it includes clear constraints on the jobs officials can take when they leave the civil service, as they warn that the public servants now feel “entitled to capitalise on their public sector experience when they move into the private sector”.

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A report published by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee also said there should be clear rules to prevent conflicts of interest as individuals move into the civil service from the private sector.

“In an age where a certain set of shared values can no longer be assumed to be embedded in our society, the government must set out clear values and a clear set of principles to define how public servants should think about their future career moves and their subsequent career outside of the public sector,” the report stated.

“The key principles should be that no one takes a job for a specified period, currently two years, in which there is a perceived conflict of interest with their past employment in the public service, and no one should have a job in the public service in which there could be a perceived conflict with their past career in the private sector.”

The report sets out some suggested text which MPs want to add to the code, including that civil servants must “take decisions in the public interest alone”, not allow their decisions to be influenced by career expectations and prospects if they leave public service, and “take particular care” in dealings with former colleagues who might want to influence their decisions.

The report, examining the role of watchdog Advisory Committee on Business Appointments watchdog also called for a “comprehensive reform of the whole ACOBA system”.

ACOBA provides advice to former ministers and civil servants at Director General Grade and above about appointments they wish to take up within two years of leaving government, but committee chair Bernard Jenkin said the government must take steps to ensure that the ACOBA system is improved swiftly.

“In the long term, failure do so will lead to an even greater decline in public trust in our democracy and our government," he said.

MPs also raise concerns about the increasing interchange between public and private sectors. The civil service has stated that it wishes to increase the number of secondments into government as well as opening up more posts to external recruitment, as part of the drive to fill skills gaps across government.

“The risk arising from the interchange between the public and private sector is the opportunity it affords to the less scrupulous to conduct themselves in public office in the hope that the people who they are regulating or contracting with, or the relationships they are managing, will somehow prove fruitful to them at a future date,” MPs concluded.

They acknowledge there is “little hard evidence that the movement to the private sector is not conducted appropriately” but say the current ACOBA system provides little reassurance should concerns arise.

The committee urged greater transparency about appointments being given to officials who do not fall under ACOBA’s remit, as well as changes to the civil service code.

Concerns were also raised about the increasing interchange between public and private sectors. The civil service has stated that it wishes to increase the number of secondments into government as well as opening up more posts to external recruitment, as part of the drive to fill skills gaps across government.

“The risk arising from the interchange between the public and private sector is the opportunity it affords to the less scrupulous to conduct themselves in public office in the hope that the people who they are regulating or contracting with, or the relationships they are managing, will somehow prove fruitful to them at a future date,” MPs said.

Information about requests for advice from officials at director and deputy director grades was previously published in ACOBA’s annual reports, but this was stopped in 2010. Departments and agencies are now meant to publish this information on their own websites but PACAC notes that many are not doing so.

“We are aware that, in many situations, civil servants in positions lower down the organisation perform significant roles in respect both of policy formation and commercial relationships, including some senior responsible officers for major projects,” MPs say.

They add that there is a ”clear lack of scrutiny and transparency” about how the business advice rules are being applied to these officials.

Departments should appoint a non-executive director with responsibility to ensure Business Appointment Rules are followed by officials below director general grade, and for aggregated data about officials at this level who move into private sector jobs to be published on the ACOBA website.

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