Lobbyists pay for MPs' junkets

DOZENS OF parliamentary groups of MPs, operating inside the Commons, are being run by outside commercial interest groups, The Independent has learnt. No fewer than 14 are based in the offices of lobbying companies, some of which do not record their involvement in the official registers.

The all-party groups, which cover subjects as diverse as science and skiing, yachting and children's needs, meet regularly in the House of Commons. Some hold lunches or dinners attended by outside organisations, while others have more formal meetings with speakers. The richer groups offer lavish hospitality and foreign trips.

Lord Neill's Committee on Standards in Public Life is to examine evidence about the all-party and parliamentary groups as part of its inquiry into parliamentary behaviour. Last night, the Liberal Democrats called for more transparency and for public funding to help smaller groups. Some of the cash-rich groups receive up to pounds 40,000 a year from big business while other worthy concerns struggle by with no financial support.

Around 30 groups are administered by trade organisations such as the Paper Federation of Great Britain, which supports the Paper Industry All- Party Group, or the Chemical Industries Association, which helps the Chemical Industry All-Party Group. Others in this category include the Motoring All-Party Group, whose contact address is the Royal Automobile Club, and the Lighting Group, which has a base at the office of the Lighting Industry Federation.

Last night Paul Tyler, the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, called on Lord Neill's committee to change the rules governing the groups. Mr Tyler, who runs the Organophosphates All-Party Group with no financial support, said such worthy organisations had far less clout. "That does not make for good democracy," he said. "I see no reason why the House should not have the budget and the power to make a small contribution to administrative costs, and then we could get some balance."

Corrine Souza, an author and former lobbyist who used to run an all-party group, is writing to Lord Neill saying she had seen instances of MPs promoting their own business interests on trips. Parliamentarians should be banned from doing business with people they met on official visits. "Every parliamentarian meeting a businessman should be required to give a health warning. Legitimate groups would not suffer one little bit from that," she said.

Two years ago the Administration Committee, an internal parliamentary body, recommended that parliamentary groups should have to declare their outside membership by calling themselves "associate" groups if not all their members were MPs or peers. It also recommended that a register of groups' interests and funding should be made public.

Although those changes have been implemented, many groups still do not declare the full value of the outside support they receive. Nor do they always make clear where their administrative office is based. The new register shows the richest declared group is the Beer Club All-Party group, which receives pounds 40,000 per year from the brewing and pub industry.

Marion Roe, Conservative MP for Broxbourne and chairman of the administration committee, said the new rules should be given time to work.

"Let's see how it goes and if it's not satisfactory we will have to have another look at it," she said.

An explosion in the number of parliamentary subject groups has seen numbers rise from 80 to around 160 in the past 15 years. In addition, there are about 100 groups set up to improve links with other countries.

A spokesman for Lord Neill's committee, which will look at lobbying when it returns to issues covered in the Nolan report on standards in public life, said it would be glad to examine evidence submitted on the subject.

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