London, 15^th September 2016 – Transparency International UK welcomes the new report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life that raises important questions about the revolving door between regulators and the private sector

The revolving door poses a high corruption risk for regulators, whereby they can be captured by the interests of those they are supposed to oversee.

In 2014 media reports highlighted that a Tesco Director and former Food Standards Agency Head lobbied the Government to withhold a report into food contamination rates in supermarket chicken. This is despite receiving advice from the business appointments watchdog (ACOBA) not to conduct lobbying on behalf of Tesco during this period.

The report today shows that these kinds of risks remain ongoing and action is needed to prevent future abuse of the revolving door.

Duncan Hames, Transparency International UK Director of Policy, said:

 “Regulators are important defenders of the public interest. They’re tasked with supervising banks, checking the food we eat and protecting our environment from harm. Yet, according to this latest report, only a third of them have policies in place to protect against capture by the industries they oversee.”

 “Over four years ago Transparency International UK raised the alarm about the risks associated with the movement of staff between the public and private sector. It’s worrying to see so few regulatory bodies have heeded these concerns and put robust measures in place.”

 ***ENDS***

Contact:
Dominic Kavakeb
Dominic.kavakeb@transparency.org.uk
020 3096 7695
079 6456 0340