The departing post-government jobs watchdog has issued guidance to senior civil servants, special advisers and ministers on the interim arrangements that will be in place during its wind-up.
This will see the Civil Service Commission begin to receive applications from the most senior civil servants from mid-September.
Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, announced last month that the government would close the Advisory Committee for Business Appointments on 13 October, with its functions to be split between the Civil Service Commission and the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards.
The watchdog, which vets the jobs that ministers and senior officials take after leaving government to avoid conflicts of interest, has now confirmed the interim arrangements that will be in place for its last month of existence.
After Friday 12 September:
- Applications from former senior civil servants at director general level and above (SCS3/equivalent and above) should be submitted via their department to: the Civil Service Commission at bars@csc.gov.uk
- Applications from the most senior special advisers (PB4 and equivalent) should also be submitted via the department to: the Civil Service Commission at bars@csc.gov.uk
- Applications from other senior Crown servants, including members of the military and diplomatic services, should be submitted via the department to: acoba@acoba.gov.uk for further information.
- Former ministers should submit applications to: the office of the independent adviser on ministerial standards at ind.adviser.BARS@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Acoba confirmed that, from 13 October, it will no longer make decisions on any applications.
Anyone who has a live application for consideration with Acoba in the lead up to this date will be contacted by the watchdog to discuss the handling of their application, it added.
The watchdog said people can also contact the team on acoba@acoba.gov.uk and 020 7271 0839 if they have any questions about the transition.
The announcement of Acoba’s closure last month came as part of a package of reforms which will see the Committee on Standards in Life repackaged as an Ethics and Integrity Commission.
McFadden also announced reforms to the business rules systems which will mean that, under the system replacing Acoba, former ministers found to have seriously breached the rules after leaving office will be asked to repay any severance payments they have received.
As it takes over applications from the most senior civil servants, McFadden has asked the Civil Service Commission to work with officials in the Cabinet Office to create a streamlined application process for roles where there is a lower threat to the integrity of government – such as journalism, media appearances, and academia – with more detailed consideration and conditions reserved for genuinely complex or higher risk applications.
He also asked the commission to move towards a “culture of support and advice” by changing the way it deals with retrospective applications so that, if a person acknowledges their error and agrees to follow the process, they can still receive advice and be subject to conditions.
McFadden has asked first civil service commissioner Gisela Stuart to report to him, once the commission has taken on the function, with recommendations to further strengthen the business appointment rules.
Stuart told McFadden in a letter last month that the commission is “well established as a predictable and proportionate regulator that operates at pace” and is therefore “optimally placed” to deliver ministers’ expectations of a faster, streamlined system.