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Neil Findlay
What has changed?
In your view, what concerns was the Lobbying Act seeking to address?
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Concerns over the transparency of decision making and the influence of individuals and organisations on that process.
Shining a light on who is influencing decision making and who gains from it.
Shining a light on who is influencing decision making and who gains from it.
Two years on, has the Lobbying Act addressed those concerns?
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In some limited ways it has. Interested parties can now look up the register and see who has met with which MSP, Ministers etc and what they have met about. We can now see when they have met and have limited information on what was discussed. For example, we can see that the CBI has at the time of writing submitted 101 returns on the register where as the Scottish TUC has 47, Grayling 27, Charlotte Street Partners 8.
It has to be remembered that it is only organisations of a certain size that have to register - this in my view is wrong as individuals or small organisations can wield significant power and influence and should not be exempt. Also the register only covers face to face meetings - in an era of digital and electronic communications it is absurd that phone calls, emails, facetime, social media etc. appear not be covered. Why would a letter from a CEO urging the Govt to award a contract or pay money to support a sector during lockdown not be considered lobbying?
It has to be remembered that it is only organisations of a certain size that have to register - this in my view is wrong as individuals or small organisations can wield significant power and influence and should not be exempt. Also the register only covers face to face meetings - in an era of digital and electronic communications it is absurd that phone calls, emails, facetime, social media etc. appear not be covered. Why would a letter from a CEO urging the Govt to award a contract or pay money to support a sector during lockdown not be considered lobbying?
Do you support a legislative approach to regulating lobbying activity?
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Yes I do believe in a legislative approach and that it needs to be strengthened. My original bill was taken over by the Govt and watered down so many elements of my original proposal were omitted.
It is my view that self regulation and a non statutory approach is completely ineffectual.
It is my view that self regulation and a non statutory approach is completely ineffectual.
Improvements without legislation
In your view, is the Lobbying Act working in the way it was intended?
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The Govt never wanted this legislation and wanted to ensure my proposal did not make it through parliament so they took it over and watered it down. So yes, it is operating exactly the way the Govt wanted with a 'light touch' approach that gives the illusion of having done something radical but actually is very limited. We know from the major controversies around so many elements of their abuse of the Freedom of Information act that the Scottish Govt does not see openness and transparency as something they have to bother with so this very limited reform of lobbying is as far as they wanted to go.
Improvements requiring legislative change
Could the legislation be improved in any way? If so, please indicate why and in what way.
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Yes it could - include more than face to face communications
It should cover ex Ministers, Senior civil servants , SPADS and MSPs who become lobbyists - addressing the so called revolving door phenomenon
Paid consultancies and professional lobbyists should publish their clients lists
It should cover ex Ministers, Senior civil servants , SPADS and MSPs who become lobbyists - addressing the so called revolving door phenomenon
Paid consultancies and professional lobbyists should publish their clients lists
In particular, do you have any views on whether changes should be made to the following (please indicate why and in what way):
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It should cover ex Ministers, Senior civil servants, SPADS and MSPs who become lobbyists . These people have extensive knowledge of Govt, contracting, decision making etc and a significant network of potentially very useful and powerful contacts putting them in a very advantageous situation over others.
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No all methods of communications should be covered
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Yes my original proposal was as follows and i believe it still has some merit
Thresholds
Thresholds are required in order to capture lobbyists who are involved in significant amounts of lobbying. It is also meant to protect small businesses and smaller charities or other smaller organisations who are involved in only minor amounts of lobbying. Having thresholds ensures there will be no bureaucratic burden placed on such small organisations. Therefore, it is imperative that an approximation, or reasonable estimate, of what is being spent on lobbying is provided. One way to bridge commercial sensitivity concerns would be to introduce a banding system – say £2000 to £5000, £5000 to £10,000, and so on. This would mean that the financial details which are divulged are an approximation rather than an exact figure, thus providing an element of commercial confidentiality.
If any organisation or individual reaches the threshold set, they would then be expected to register. What those thresholds should be is open to question. To stimulate discussion, I would suggest that options for the thresholds might be:
For a consultant lobbyist, I would suggest that registration is necessary if they receive income from lobbying activity of £2000 or more over a 6 month period, or if a group of companies agree to employ several lobbyists for similar work each at under £2000 but the total exceeds £2000 in a 6 month period.
For an in-house lobbyist, if the company or organisation spends a total of £9000 or more on “lobbying activity” over a 6 month period; or, if a group of companies agree to spend less than £9000 on lobbying activity of a similar nature but the total exceeds £9000 over a 6 month period.
Time: Registration is required if a particular amount of time is spent on lobbying activity. I would suggest this figure would be 20% of a person’s workload (time) over a 3 month period.
Thresholds
Thresholds are required in order to capture lobbyists who are involved in significant amounts of lobbying. It is also meant to protect small businesses and smaller charities or other smaller organisations who are involved in only minor amounts of lobbying. Having thresholds ensures there will be no bureaucratic burden placed on such small organisations. Therefore, it is imperative that an approximation, or reasonable estimate, of what is being spent on lobbying is provided. One way to bridge commercial sensitivity concerns would be to introduce a banding system – say £2000 to £5000, £5000 to £10,000, and so on. This would mean that the financial details which are divulged are an approximation rather than an exact figure, thus providing an element of commercial confidentiality.
If any organisation or individual reaches the threshold set, they would then be expected to register. What those thresholds should be is open to question. To stimulate discussion, I would suggest that options for the thresholds might be:
For a consultant lobbyist, I would suggest that registration is necessary if they receive income from lobbying activity of £2000 or more over a 6 month period, or if a group of companies agree to employ several lobbyists for similar work each at under £2000 but the total exceeds £2000 in a 6 month period.
For an in-house lobbyist, if the company or organisation spends a total of £9000 or more on “lobbying activity” over a 6 month period; or, if a group of companies agree to spend less than £9000 on lobbying activity of a similar nature but the total exceeds £9000 over a 6 month period.
Time: Registration is required if a particular amount of time is spent on lobbying activity. I would suggest this figure would be 20% of a person’s workload (time) over a 3 month period.
Any other points
Are there any other issues you would like to raise in connection with the operation of the Lobbying Act?
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N/A