The role of politicians in giving civil servants advice on post-government jobs will come to an end when Acoba shuts down next month.
The government decided in July to abolish the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments and transfer its functions to the Civil Service Commission and the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards.
Acoba, which will close on 13 October, vets the jobs that ministers and the most senior officials and senior special advisers take after leaving government to avoid conflicts of interest. The Civil Service Commission is taking on the function for civil servants and spads, with the PM’s adviser taking on the ministerial function.
Conservative Party shadow ministers have recently sought assurances about what the announcement means for the role of political members. Acoba’s convention is to have eight members, three of which are nominated by the three largest political parties, although it currently does not have the full set.
Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of the Lancaster Alex Burghart sought assurances over the matter last month in a letter to Pat McFadden, the then-chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Burghart said it would be “beneficial to avoid any future suggestion that the government of the day may seek to take decisions in relation to politicians of a different colour for partisan advantage”.
He said political membership “acts as a check and balance in that light: now and in the future” and that “one day, current Labour ministers will be on the other side of the fence”.
“It would be in the interests of the Labour Party that such checks are retained,” he added.
More recently, Mike Wood, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, asked Thomas-Symonds in a parliamentary written question sent on 5 September whether the Civil Service Commission will include political members nominated by the main political parties in the House of Commons.
Responding to Wood, Thomas-Symonds suggested such a move would require new legislation and that there were no plans to do so.
He said: “The requirements for membership of the Civil Service Commission and the appointment of commissioners are set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and do not include political members nominated by the main political parties.”
The Civil Service Commission has also confirmed details on how the process will be overseen. Gisela Stuart, the first civil service commissioner, said she and a panel of three commissioners will oversee the process, and that their aim will be to "make the process as efficient as possible, making greater use of new technology where we can".
Stuart said the commission's role will be to "provide judgement and scrutiny on applications under the rules, ensuring that people can move smoothly between public service and other sectors in a way that is appropriate and transparent".
The Civil Service Commission, which already has responsibility for advising on entry to the civil service, will formally assume responsibility for advising on exits for the most senior civil servants and special advisers under the government’s business appointment rules on 13 October, although it has already begun to give advice as part of the transition process.
Stuart said the commission has been working closely with Acoba over the summer, with Acoba staff and members sharing their expertise and insights, and thanked them for helping to make the handover "as smooth and seamless as possible".
The commission has also been tasked with designing a new system for the regular audits of departments’ handling of business appointment rules applications at lower levels, "scrutinising the way cases are handled at lower grades and sharing best practice". Stuart confirmed that from 2026, these audits will take place alongside the commission's audits of recruitment practice in departments.
The commission has also been asked to make recommendations to government on how the business appointment rules themselves might be strengthened. Stuart said the commission will be consulting stakeholders in the new year as part of this work.
Stuart said she will talk more about the commission's approach to its new function at the Institute for Government in November and in evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee over the autumn.