Lords face ban on paid lobbying

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29th October 2009

Members of the House of Lords face an "outright ban" on accepting payment for parliamentary services or for the "provision of advice on how to lobby or otherwise influence Parliament".

However, peers will still be allowed to undertake "non-parliamentary consultancies".

The recommended changes follow an inquiry by Lord Eames, a former Archbishop of Armagh and a crossbench peer.

The Eames report, which was published this afternoon, also calls for a new House of Lords commissioner for standards to investigate allegations of misconduct and the misuse of facilities.

The commissioner would be appointed by the House and would have full operational independence to investigate all allegations of misconduct, including those relating to peers' financial support and the use of facilities of the House.

Members of the House will also have to sign a formal undertaking, immediately after taking the oath, both upon introduction and at the start of each subsequent Parliament, to abide by the code of conduct.

There will be a new definition of paid advocacy, to the effect that "peers should not seek by parliamentary means to confer exclusive benefit on outside bodies from which they receive payment".

In January the Sunday Times reported on so-called "cash for amendments" in the Lords.

Reporters posing as lobbyists for a foreign company looking to set up a chain of shops in the UK approached several peers to see if they would accept bribes to help the company obtain an exemption from the Business Rates Supplements Bill.

Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor of Blackburn were accused by the newspaper of being willing to change laws in exchange for cash.

In May they were suspended from the House until the end of the session.

Lord Moonie and Lord Snape were cleared of wrongdoing but made an apology to the Lords.

Lady Royall, leader of the House of Lords, said: "This is a unanimous report from a group chaired by a member of the crossbenchers and including representatives from all the political parties, and I urge all members of this House to study and consider it.

"I believe it offers a vital blueprint for the future of this House. It is a thorough and important piece of work that deserves careful consideration by members of this House."

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