(APG0007)
Written evidence submitted by Sir Peter Bottomley & Lord Hannay
This evidence is being submitted to the House of Commons Standards Committee’s enquiry into All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on behalf of two APPGs - the United Nations APPG and the APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation - which we co-chair.
The APPGs - often in joint meetings - deal with wide international policies and issues, including: climate change and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, the banning of chemical and biological weapons, pandemics, and human rights. Our topics concern the work of a substantial number of international organisations, including: the UN and its many agencies, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conferences and the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, the Conference on Disarmament, the G7 and the G20. As a Permanent Member of the UN’s Security Council, a member of the G7 and the G20, the U.K. plays a significant role in these policy fields and in each of these organisations.
Members of both Houses of Parliament scrutinise government actions and hold it to account. It is therefore important that MPs and Peers be as well informed as possible on all these matters, have the opportunity to be briefed on these policy areas by those knowledgeable and expert in them, and can discuss them in a non-partisan setting. This is the task these two APPGs seek to accomplish. They are more topical and essential now that the U.K. has left the European Union and is necessarily having to re-shape the ways its international responsibilities are performed.
In our experience APPGs such as these two perform a useful function and provide a valuable service to all members of both Houses and to their staffs who wish to make use of them. Expertise and research is provided by two organisations supporting the work of the APPGs (the UN Association – UK, in the case of the UN APPG, and the British American Security Information Council, in the case of the APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation). Their work, knowledge and contacts are vital to the effective functioning of each group. This is additional to the logistical support in arranging meetings. Holding our meetings within the Palace, as we have invariably done until the onset of Covid 19 curtailed access, is by far the best and most convenient way to assist the work of the members of both Houses and of their staff. Holding these meetings requires easy access for a limited number of the staff of these organisations.
As appendices to these general considerations we are attaching notes on each of the two APPGs, which are designed to address points of detail raised in the Standards Committee’s call for evidence.
Peter Bottomley David Hannay
16 November 2020
Appendix 1
United Nations APPG Evidence: Commons Standards Committee Enquiry on APPGs
United Nations APPG recent activity
The UN APPG hosted its inaugural AGM on 30 January 2020. The meeting was attended by 16 members in total (9 members of the House of Lords and 7 members of the House of Commons), and saw the election of the following officers:
- Co-Chair: Lord Hannay (CB)
- Co-Chair & Registered Contact: Sir Peter Bottomley MP (Con)
- Vice-Chair: Harriett Baldwin MP (Con)
- Vice-Chair: Baroness Anelay (Con)
- Vice-Chair: Lord Wood (Lab)
- Vice-Chair: Catherine West MP (Lab)
- Vice-Chair: Patrick Grady MP (SNP)
- Vice-Chair: Dr Lisa Cameron MP (SNP)
- Vice-Chair: Baroness Coussins (CB)
Since this date, the UN APPG has hosted six group meetings - both in-person and online - which are briefly detailed below.
11/2/2020 - Prospects for the Iran Nuclear Deal. Speakers: Rt Hon Alistair Burt (former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa) and Dr Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizzi (RUSI Research Fellow, Middle East Security).
2/3/2020 - The Changing Deterrence Landscape: Implications for 2020 NPT Review Conference. Speaker: Professor Daryl Press (Associate Professor of Government, Dartmouth College)
2/7/2020 - The United Nations & UN75 During Covid-19. Speaker: Natalie Samarasinghe (Deputy to the Special Adviser on the UN's 75th anniversary). Online.
11/9/2020 - UNGA75: An Update on the UK’s Main Objectives at the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly. Speaker: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Minister of State for the Commonwealth, United Nations, and South Asia & Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict). Online.
15/9/2020 - Prospects for Extension of the New Start Treaty. Speakers: Angela Kane (Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs) and Pranay Vaddi (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Nuclear Policy Program Fellow). Online.
20/10/2020 - Findings and Follow-Up from the UN75 Global Consultation. Speaker: Fabrizio Hochschild (UN Under-Secretary-General & Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Preparations for the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations). Online.
Value and benefits of UN APPG to the House
The All‐Party Parliamentary Group on the United Nations (UN APPG) is a cross‐party group supporting the aims and ideals of the United Nations. The primary objective of the group is to raise awareness among MPs and Peers – about the UN; about its myriad contributions across the areas of peace and security, development and human rights; about the scope of international law and its relevance to the UK; and, crucially, about the applicability of the UN to the people who make up the British electorate.
The UN APPG provides the time and space for non-partisan policy discussion, and a forum for members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords to engage in cross-party interaction. Additionally, it is a forum for parliamentarians to receive expert briefings from authoritative sources (academics, businesspeople, third sector organisations, and other parliamentarians) on topics relating to the UN and global governance.
Transparency and appropriateness of funding of APPG activities and secretarial support
The United Nations APPG complies with all rules and regulations as set out in the Guide to the Rules on APPGs. The group receives no funding for activities, nor does it receive any additional benefits in kind.
The United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) acts as the secretariat for the UN APPG and in doing so donates staff time, the value of which is reported each year through the annual APPG registration form. The value of staff time being donated by the secretariat to the group falls within the second-lowest value band (£3,001 – 4,500). UNA-UK, as the group secretariat, provides support organising meetings, hosting the UN APPG website, and distributing meeting summaries and briefings for members of the group.
The risk of APPGs being used for access by lobbyists, other organisations or by foreign governments, and how any conflicts of interests arising can be managed
- The UN APPG organises and conducts meetings in accordance with the rules and guidance for APPGs, and does so in a transparent manner – care is taken in the choice of speakers to ensure that there is no risk of lobbying by foreign governments.
- External speakers invited to take part in meetings are carefully chosen and are well-known individuals. They are invited on behalf of the officer chairing the meeting and all speakers are publicised in the APN bulletin in advance of the meeting taking place.
- For in-person meetings: formal invitations are sent directly to selected external participants and entrance to the Palace of Westminster is only permitted to participants with a valid invitation.
- For online meetings: participation in online meetings is closely monitored, joining links are sent in advance of the meeting to those who have RSVP’d, and the meeting ends immediately following the proceedings.
Use of Parliamentary passes by staff exclusively supporting APPGs
- The House of Commons Commission, on advice from the Administration Committee, abolished the category of APPG staff passes on 15 July 2013. Since then there have not been passes issued exclusively for the purpose of supporting APPGs.
- Distribution of flyers within the mailroom, and escorting speakers to meetings of the APPG, requires a Parliamentary pass and therefore is done either by UN APPG officers’ or their researchers/staff.
- Further restrictions on the use of Parliamentary passes for APPG activity would have a significant impact on the ability of groups – including the UN APPG – to adequately publicise meetings to members of both Houses. It would have a negligible contribution to improving security, as often access to the estate is granted to anyone with a valid meeting invitation.
Financial governance and controls
- The UN APPG fully complies with the rules and requirements as outlined in the Guide to the Rules on APPGs. The financial situation of the group is reported each year as prescribed in the APPG registration form.
- The value of staff time being donated by the secretariat to the group is reported each year through the APPG registration form, approved and signed by the chair and registered contact of the group. The UN APPG does not receive any additional funding or financial benefits, and therefore is not required to produce an income and expenditure statement for approval at its AGM.
Other governance and compliance issues, including assurance that APPGs are meeting relevant employment law and data protection laws
- Email invitations to meetings of the UN APPG include an ‘unsubscribe’ function, allowing any recipient to remove themselves from the mailing list at any time.
- Summaries of meetings and briefings are sent to members of the UN APPG who have specifically requested to be included in the mailing list.
Status of APPGs within the House, including the risk of confusion with select committees, and branding of APPG activities and publications
- The UN APPG follows all guidance to avoid any confusion between the group as an APPG, and any Select Committees. Disclaimers are included on the UN APPG website and on communications.
- The UN APPG website contains the following disclaimer: “Please note: This is not an official website of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these webpages are those of the Group.”
- In order to ensure clarity, and in line with the recommendation of the Standards Committee Sixth Report, where the UN APPG uses the Crowned Portcullis logo on invitational flyers or materials it is always accompanied by text identifying the name of the group and its status as an ‘All-Party Parliamentary Group’.
Who should be accountable for ensuring an APPG complies with the rules
- Current requirements is that the Chair and Registered Contact of the group is responsible for ensuring the group’s compliance with the rules of the House. See no reason to amend this.
How APPGs can be better supported to comply with the rules
- Improved communication and more regularly updated information from the groups register.
Appendix 2
APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation Evidence: Commons Standards Committee Enquiry on APPGs
APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation Recent Activity
The APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation hosted its first meeting in the new parliament and its AGM on 30 January 2020. The meeting was attended by 16 members in total (9 members of the House of Lords and 7 members of the House of Commons), and saw the election of the following officers:
Chair and Registered Contact: Sir Peter Bottomley MP - Conservative
Co-Chair: Lord Hannay of Chiswick - Cross Bench
Vice-Chair: Hilary Benn MP - Labour
Vice-Chair: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer - Liberal Democrat
Vice-Chair: Baroness Falkner of Margravine - Cross Bench
Vice-Chair: Lord Browne of Ladyton - Labour
Vice -Chair: Lord Wood of Anfield - Labour
Since this date, the UN APPG has hosted five group meetings, both in-person and online and are briefly detailed below.
- 30th January 2020: APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation Annual General Meeting to elect group Chair and Vice-Chairs.
- 11th February 2020: Joint meeting with UN APPG on Prospects for the Iran Nuclear Deal with the Rt. Hon Allistair Burt, former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa 2010-2013, and 2017-2019 and Dr Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizzi,Research Fellow at RUSI and a Fellow at War Studies, King’s College London.
- 2nd March 2020: Joint meeting with the UN APPG on the Changing Deterrence Landscape: Implications for the 2020 NPT RevCon with Professor Daryl G. Press, Associate Professor of Government, Dartmouth College.
- 20th May 2020: Joint meeting with the APPG on Future Generations on how policy-making today considers the long-term with Sir Stewart Eldon, Former UK Ambassador to NATO, Dr Karin Von Hippel, Director General of RUSI and Dr John Carney, Head of Futures at DSTL.
- 15th September 2020: Joint meeting with UN aAPPG on Prospects for extension of the New Start Treaty and implications with Angela Kane, Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and Pranay Vaddi, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Nuclear Policy Program Fellow.
Transparency and appropriateness of funding of APPG activities and secretarial support.
- The APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation complies with the parliamentary reporting, rules and regulations, as set out in the Guide to the Rules on All-Party Parliamentary Groups handbook that is made available online.
- In addition, all received funds are declared and the amount received is published online. At the AGM, the elected officers gather to assess the APPG’s level of engagement, topic variety and number of speakers. The officers of the group put forward recommendations and requests that indicate the trajectory that they wish to see the APPG steered towards.
- Neither the APPG or secretariat seek to, or solicit funds to host specific meetings. The APPG on Global Security and Non-proliferation is run on a very small budget. Funding of APPG activities is limited to staff time and printing of flyers, which are distributed within the Houses of Parliament.
The Role of external secretariats to APPGs
- The British American Security Information Council (BASIC) serves as secretariat to the APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation. The Secretariat provides staff support to the group, sets-up the meetings, hosts the appg website, and includes a write-up of all appg meetings.
- The external secretariat of the group donates staff time, the value of which is reported each year through the annual APPG registration form. The value of staff time being donated by the secretariat to the group falls within the second-lowest value band (£4,501–6,000).
The risk of APPGs being used for access by lobbyists, other organisations or by foreign governments, and how any conflicts of interests arising can be managed
- The risk that foreign powers, lobbyists, or organisations gaining access to further their objectives is virtually nil. Potential speakers' backgrounds, suitability and affiliation are heavily scrutinised before a formal invitation is offered by the Char or Vice-Chair.
- Whilst inside the Palace of Westminster, all guest speakers are monitored by the Clerk to the APPG. In addition, the Clerk personally escorts the external speaker in and out of the Palace of Westminster. External participants invited to the meeting are invited by the Clerk and they are always well known individuals. The Clerk keeps a vigilant eye over all external participants invited to events to ensure that they exit the Palace of Westminster upon conclusion of the meeting.
- APPG meetings are advertised very carefully and discreetly. Formal invitations are sent directly to selected external participants. However, formal invites are unnecessary for MP’s, Lords and parliamentary staffers as they have the right to attend all APPG meetings.
- Issues around conflict of interests are preempted by the Clerk to ensure that they never arise in the first place. Should they arise, and under instruction from the Chair / Vice-Chairs, the Clerk will immediately withdraw Invitations. 24hrs prior to all meetings, the Clerk submits to the Chair and registered Contact a full list of meeting participants.
Use of Parliamentary passes by staff exclusively supporting APPGs
- As a researcher for Lord David Hannay, the clerk is not providing support exclusively for the APPG. This is to say, the Clerk also provides Lord Hannay with research independent from APPG related activities.
- The use of a parliamentary pass is used by the Clerk to ensure flyers can be distributed within the mailroom located inside the Palace of Westminster.
Financial governance and controls
For the Secretariat:
- As an NGO, the secretariat (BASIC) complies with all rules and regulations as set forth by the charities Act 2011.
- Vigorous independent auditing occurs and the last audit was for the year ended 31st December 2019.
- The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic ofIreland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
- The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the constitution.
- The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity's website.
- Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other countries. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.
For the APPG:
- The APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation fully complies with the rules and requirements as outlined in the Guide to the Rules on APPGs. The financial situation of the group is reported each year as prescribed in the APPG registration form.
- The value of staff time being donated by the secretariat to the group is reported each year through the APPG registration form, approved and signed by the Chair and registered contact of the group. The APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation does not receive any additional funding or financial benefits, and therefore is not required to produce an income and expenditure statement for approval at its AGM.
- At the AGM meeting, held no later than a year from the last, the elected chairs examine the financial statements for the group. As the appg on Global Security and Non-proliferation falls under the threshold, this has been unnecessary.
Other governance and compliance issues, including assurance that APPGs are meeting relevant employment law and data protection laws
- The APPG subscribes to and strictly adheres to an equal opportunities code of conduct. Speakers are selected solely on their merits and expertise, without preferential treatment of any kind.
- One of the methods to ensure this is through hosting gender balanced panels, and we are working to ensure greater racial diversity among our speakers.
- As Secretariat to the APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation, BASIC provides the salary cost of the Clerk. BASIC is a non-profit UK registered organisation that has charity status. As such, it follows a strict code of conduct and observes all employment law obligations are adhered to.
- The governance structure of BASIC consists of an elected board (trustees) that oversees that BASIC is meeting all its employment obligations and independent auditors are assigned to review the activities and data protection policies of BASIC.
Status of APPGs within the House, including the risk of confusion with select committees, and branding of APPG activities and publications
- The APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation is specifically and deliberately non-partisan and does not, as a body, develop, hold or promote specific policy positions.
- As such, impact will therefore be found in the policy process, rather than the outcome of policy decisions.
- The risk of confusion with select committees is virtually nil; all correspondence and communications include the appg banner/logo and the role of the appg is communicated to all speakers.
- In addition, all appg reports and publications bear the following disclaimer: “This is not an official publication of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in this report are those of the group.”
- In addition, all APPG communications bear the following disclaimer: “This is not an official website [or feed] of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these webpages are those of the group.”
Who should be accountable for ensuring an APPG complies with the rules
- The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards should continue to ensure that the appg complies with the rules. The commissioner may investigate a complaint which concerns an alleged breach of the rules for All-Party Parliamentary Groups, if it is supported by sufficient evidence of such a breach.
How APPGs can be better supported to comply with the rules
- Good communication between the groups register office and appg is vital. However, when it comes to reporting requirements, updating the register takes too long (months). This means that the information published on the parliament website is never up to date. To the casual observer, this might appear as if the APPG is not following the rules.