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Revolving door

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A Transparency International UK (TI-UK) survey in 2010 revealed that the revolving door between government and business comes a close second in the public’s ranking of potentially corrupt activities.  A public official taking a job with a company that s/he was previously responsible for regulating was rated as potentially corrupt by 80% of respondents.  A survey conducted by YouGov in January 2012 found that 69% of respondents agreed that it was “too easy for former ministers to get jobs that allow them to make improper use of their time in government”.  

TI-UK believes that the revolving door between government and the private sector can be of benefit to both sectors, provided the system for regulating movements of personnel is sufficiently transparent and robust in order to ensure that there is no cause for any suspicion of impropriety.  Unfortunately, several scandals in recent years have revealed that the current system for regulating the revolving door is weak and in urgent need of reform.  TI-UK’s recently published Policy Paper examines major public policy concerns in relation to the revolving door and makes several recommendations for reforms.  The Paper draws upon the TI-UK 2011 Report, ‘Cabs for Hire – Fixing the Revolving Door between Government and Business.’   

   

What is the ‘Revolving Door’?

The term ‘revolving door’ refers to the movement of individuals between positions of public office and jobs in the private or voluntary sector, in either direction.   This has become more common in recent years because Ministers and crown servants often leave public office at a younger age than used to be the case.  Those in public service have become more eager to learn from corporate experience, and often feel a need to bring in external expertise to assist in increasingly complex areas of government activity.  But private-sector enthusiasm for employing public officials also appears to have increased.    
    

Why is it cause for concern?

Moving through the revolving door can be beneficial to both sides, improving understanding and communication between public officials and business, and allowing sharing of expertise.  However, the revolving door brings risks that government officials will be influenced in their policy or procurement decisions by the interests of past or prospective employers.  
    
Conflicts of interest related to the revolving door can take many forms, for example:
  • Public officials might allow the agenda of a previous private-sector employer to influence their government work, being overly sympathetic to a sector that they have a responsibility to regulate. 
  • Public officials might abuse their power while in office to favour a certain company, with a view to ingratiating themselves and gaining future employment.  
  • Former public officials who accept jobs in business might influence their former government colleagues to make decisions in a way that favours their new employer.
  • Former public officials might use confidential information to benefit their new employers – for example, during procurement procedures.    
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