PACAC to question Cabinet Office Minister on the effectiveness of the Lobbying Act 2014
Following the 2021 Greensill lobbying scandal and the ensuing criticisms levelled at the Lobbying Act 2014, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee will question the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on whether the Act is an effective mechanism to monitor and regulate lobbying activities in Government.
Meeting details
In its fourth evidence session of its post-legislative scrutiny of the Lobbying Act, which the Committee was asked to undertake by the Government in April 2021, the Committee will investigate a number of technical issues in the legislation, including how so called ‘consultant lobbyists’ are regulated through the Act, what exemptions there are from the Act which may allow individuals to avoid declaring lobbying activity, and whether there are sufficient measures in place to identify the ‘ultimate beneficiary’ of any lobbying.
Together with these points, MPs will also enquire into the much more substantial lobbying activity which is conducted by those who fall outside the Act’s narrow definition of a consultant lobbyist, and whether the Government’s own system of transparency disclosures, which the Lobbying Act is designed to operate in conjunction with, is sufficiently robust.