HL Deb 16 May 1977 vol 383 cc546-8WA
Lord ORR-EWING

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will state the rules applying to civil servants who take up full-time employment after retiring from the Civil Service, whether there has been any change in these rules since 1964, and whether they will list, with details, any exceptions made to them in individual cases since that date.

Lord PEART

I assume that the noble Lord is referring to the rules governing the acceptance by civil servants of outside business appointments, both full-time and part-time, following retirement or resignation from the Civil Service. But if he has another point in mind perhaps he would like to write to me.

The rules generally require all officers of the rank of Under-Secretary (or equivalent) and above to obtain the assent of the Government before accepting within two years of retirement or resignation offers of re-employment in business or other bodies with which the Government is in a financial or otherwise special relationship or in semi-public bodies brought into being by the Government or Parliament. In addition, there are posts of a special or technical nature (below the rank of Under-Secretary) to which a similar requirement is applied. The rules are set out in paragraph 9961 of the Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service Code, and paragraphs 4219 to 4252 of the Establishment Officers' Guide. Copies of these are available in the House of Lords Library.

The rules have been amended twice since 1964. In 1969 various procedural changes were made. In 1975 the Prime Minister, then Mr. Harold Wilson, reviewed the rules and concluded that they were a sensible safeguard to the movement of people with experience of public administration into business and industry. Two changes in the rules were made. It was decided that there should normally be a period of three months between Permanent Secretaries (or persons of equivalent rank in Her Majesty's Forces) leaving the Service and taking up outside commercial appointments, although this period may be waived if in the Prime Minister's view this is in the national interest. In addition a standing advisory committee under the chairmanship of my noble friend Lord Diamond was set up to make recommendations on individual cases referred to him by the Prime Minister of the day, including all cases at Permanent Secretary level. No exceptions have been made to these rules.

House adjourned at four minutes before seven o'clock.