Appendix 2: Correspondence between the
Chairman and the Cabinet Secretary
Letter to Sir Gus O'Donnell from the Chairman,
dated 19 March 2008
You will be aware that PASC has recently taken evidence
from Sir Philip Mawer, the Prime Minister's newly appointed Independent
Adviser on Ministerial Interests. I wanted to take up with you
a point that was raised in the session.
Sir Philip suggested in his oral evidence that he
did not believe his predecessor in the post, Sir John Bourn, had
been asked to conduct any investigations into alleged breaches
of the Ministerial Code. We also know that Sir John did not publish
an annual report, or a list of ministers' interests, or any document
detailing publicly his work as Independent Adviser. The Committee
would find it very useful to have a summary of the work that was
done by Sir John Bourn during his period as Independent Adviser
on Ministerial Interests.
I would also be grateful if you could put this into
context by also informing the Committee as to Sir John's remuneration
in this role, and the amount of Cabinet Office expenditure on
supporting him during his time in post.
Letter to the Chairman from Sir Gus O'Donnell,
dated 21 April 2008
Thank you for your letter of 19 March about the role
of Sir John Bourn, the former Independent Adviser on Ministers'
interests.
Sir John was appointed as the Independent Adviser
on Ministers' interests by the former Prime Minister in March
2006. The appointment was a personal appointment made by the then
Prime Minister. The appointment was terminated on Tony Blair leaving
office in June 2007.
Sir John's role was to provide advice to Ministers
and Permanent Secretaries on the handling of Ministers' private
interests. Copies of Ministers' declarations of interest were
provided to Sir John to enable him to satisfy himself that the
arrangements put in place were adequate to avoid any conflict
of interest. The terms of Sir John's remit were that all such
advice would be provided in confidence.
In terms of investigations, Sir John's remit provided
for the former Prime Minister to be able to ask Sir John to establish
the facts in certain cases, and to provide him with private advice.
In the event, Sir John was not asked to undertake any such investigations.
A copy of Sir John's terms of reference is enclosed for your ease
of reference.[36]
The agreed remuneration in the role was £30,000
per year. Sir John was supported in his role by the Propriety
and Ethics team in the Cabinet Office. The level of support was
minimal and it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of such
support from the overall work of the propriety and Ethics team.
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