§ 41. Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many former press officers have been vetted by the business appointments committee for subsequent employment in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. RentonIt is not our practice to provide detailed information of this kind about the operation of business appointment rules. Individual applications are received and treated in confidence.
§ Mr. BanksWould it not be appropriate for Sir Bernard Ingham to be vetted as a former press officer—preferably with two bricks? After all, he played the role of deputy Prime Minister, undermined democratically elected Cabinet Ministers, contravened the Official Secrets Act and knows where all the bodies are buried. Is it not outrageous that he can go outside the civil service and earn vast amounts of money for those misdeeds?
§ Mr. RentonI appreciate that the hon. Gentleman has a lot of fun asking such a question, but for two years Sir Bernard Ingham cannot take up any outside commercial appointment without first seeking approval and without the application being scrutinised by the advisory committee on business appointments, which is chaired by Lord Carlisle.
§ Sir Michael MarshallIs it not true that, subject to the appropriate vetting to which my right hon. Friend referred, there is every incentive to allow senior civil servants to move into industry? We need more interchange between the civil service and the private sector. One of our great national failings is that there is not enough.
§ Mr. RentonI agree with my hon. Friend. There is much more interchange between the private sector and the civil service in France, permitting a much more balanced and wide-ranging career structure. Interchange is to be encouraged.