"The much-criticised watchdog that scrutinises the jobs UK ministers can take after leaving office will be formally scrapped on Monday as part of a wider shake-up of the ethics structure in government. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), described by critics as fundamentally toothless, has been closed, a Cabinet Office announcement said, with its functions taken over by two existing regulators. At the same time, a new organisation called the Ethics and Integrity Commission will oversee the work of a series of other regulators,"
"Also from Monday, a previously announced ban on severance payments for ministers who lose their job after a serious breach of the ministerial code comes into force. In the change, first revealed by the Guardian in July, former ministers who take up new jobs in a serious breach of the rules for post-government appointments could be asked to hand back any severance payment."
Acoba has been closed and its functions reassigned to two existing regulators. A new Ethics and Integrity Commission will oversee multiple regulators and take on the work of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. A ban on severance payments now applies to ministers who lose their job after a serious breach of the ministerial code. Former ministers who accept new jobs in serious breach of post-government appointment rules could be required to return severance payments. The standard severance equals a quarter of a ministerial salary, roughly just under £17,000 for cabinet ministers. Short-serving ministers and those quickly reappointed face reduced or deferred payments. Sir Laurie Magnus will adjudicate appointment rules for ex-ministers, and the Civil Service Commission will regulate former civil servants and special advisers.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]