Official review discovers up to 100 senior civil servants have paid jobs outside of Whitehall as Cabinet Secretary Simon Case insists none represent a conflict of interest but all mandarins will now have to declare interests ‘on at least an annual basis’
- Simon Case found ‘fewer than 100’ senior Whitehall figures have second jobs
- Cabinet Secretary said he was not aware of any representing conflict of interest
- But senior civil servants will now have to declare interests ‘at least’ every year
Dozens of senior civil servants have paid second jobs outside of Whitehall, an official review conducted by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has found.
Mr Case today published the findings of a probe he launched on April 14 when he instructed all senior figures to tell him immediately if they had another form of paid employment alongside their civil service role.
Mr Case said he had been made aware of ‘fewer than one hundred senior civil servants’ who have a paid second job.
But he said he had ‘not been made aware of any instances of senior civil servants holding outside interests which are considered to conflict with their roles’ in Whitehall.
Despite Mr Case insisting he was ‘reassured that the overwhelming number of senior civil servants act in accordance with the rules’ he announced plans to strengthen the system to better protect against potential conflicts of interest.
He said from now on all senior figures will have to declare their interests ‘on at least an annual basis’ and even those with no outside interests will still have to fill out a ‘nil return’ form.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case today revealed he had been made aware of ‘fewer than one hundred senior civil servants’ who have a paid second job outside of Whitehall
Mr Case today published the findings of a probe he launched on April 14 when he instructed all senior figures to tell him immediately if they had another form of paid employment alongside their civil service role
Mr Case said he had been made aware of ‘ fewer than one hundred senior civil servants’ who have a paid second job
Mr Case launched the review into second jobs after the disclosure earlier this month that former government chief procurement officer Bill Crothers worked as a part-time director at Greensill Capital while still in Whitehall.
The move was approved via a Cabinet Office internal conflicts of interest policy. There is no suggestion Mr Crothers broke any rules.
Mr Case said in his letter to permanent secretaries on April 14 there was ‘acute concern’ at the top of the civil service about the issues that had emerged as a result of the David Cameron Greensill lobbying row.
The Cabinet Secretary set out the findings of his review in a letter to Parliament’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
He said: ‘I have not been made aware of any instances of senior civil servants holding outside interests which are considered to conflict with their roles, or with their obligations under the Code.’
He added: ‘I have so far been made aware of fewer than one hundred senior civil servants who hold paid employment alongside their civil service role.
‘For context, examples of such roles include tutoring or fitness instruction. In each case, the Permanent Secretary has considered the outside role alongside the individual’s obligations under the Code, and found there to be no conflict.
Mr Case said that ‘where senior civil servants do have outside interests, they are often providing contributions to wider public life’, for example by serving as a magistrate or a reservist.
‘I have been heartened to see that colleagues are making a contribution to wider society and I am sure the Committee would agree that in any changes we make to manage outside interests more effectively, we should ensure that civil servants are able to continue to contribute in such a way,’ he said.
Mr Case said that having completed the review he was ‘reassured that the overwhelming number of senior civil servants act in accordance with the rules’.
Despite Mr Case insisting he was ‘reassured that the overwhelming number of senior civil servants act in accordance with the rules’ he also announced plans to strengthen the rules on disclosing second jobs to better protect against potential conflicts of interest
But the probe had ‘highlighted areas where we can make improvements’.
Setting out proposed changes, Mr Case said: ‘All senior civil servants will be required to declare any relevant interests to their permanent secretary on at least an annual basis.
‘This will include providing a “nil return” should they have no relevant outside interests.
‘Senior civil servants will of course continue to be required to declare any outside interests on appointment, or if their circumstances change, in real time.’