Gatwick MPs seek urgent assurances on Heathrow ministers’ involvement in airports decision
Crispin Blunt MP has called again on the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, to make sure Ministers who have a constituency interest in the runways decision are not involved in the Government’s consideration of the Airports Commission report. Sir Jeremy Heywood has responded to Crispin Blunt’s original letter of 10th June in which Gatwick Coordination Group (GCG) MPs (chaired by Crispin) sought assurances that the provisions on conflicts of interest in the Ministerial Code will apply to the many Ministers who have a constituency interest in opposing a new runway at Heathrow. Sir Jeremy’s letter is equivocal, saying “These matters are considered on a case-by-case basis, reflecting specific Ministerial responsibilities and the nature of any constituency interest. These Code provisions will of course apply to the Government’s response to the Airports Commission’s Final Report”. The GCG is concerned that this is not a clear response to the specific high profile case of the runway decision. Crispin Blunt’s reply to Sir Jeremy says there is seen to be a conflict between constituency interests of Ministers, and the national interest. These suggestions “…should be an affront to you as Cabinet Secretary. That you appear not to be in a position to address our concerns on this very high profile issue is a grave matter.”
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Gatwick MPs seek urgent assurances on Heathrow ministers’ involvement in airports decision
30.6.2015 (from Crispin Blunt, MP for Reigate)
Crispin Blunt MP has called again on the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, to make sure Ministers who have a constituency interest in the national decision to be taken on airport expansion are not involved in the Government’s consideration of the Airports Commission report due to be published tomorrow.
Sir Jeremy Heywood has responded to Crispin Blunt’s letter of 10th June in which Gatwick Coordination Group MPs sought assurances that the provisions on conflicts of interest in the Ministerial Code will apply to Ministers who have a constituency interest in opposing a new runway at Heathrow.
Sir Jeremy’s letter is equivocal, saying “These matters are considered on a case-by-case basis, reflecting specific Ministerial responsibilities and the nature of any constituency interest. These Code provisions will of course apply to the Government’s response to the Airports Commission’s Final Report”.
The Gatwick Coordination Group is concerned that this is not a clear response to the specific high profile case of the imminent Airports Commission report.
In his reply, Crispin Blunt asks for Sir Jeremy to reconsider his response and says:
“The Government’s consideration of the Airports Commission report will be a matter of great national importance. The existence of explicit and expressed constituency interests of senior members of the Government is a matter of record. So much so that part of the case being made by the promoters of development at Gatwick rather than Heathrow is the existence of these interests rather than the national interest.
“It disgraces basic tenets of transparent and good governance that these suggestions can be made. They should be an affront to you as Cabinet Secretary. That you appear not to be in a position to address our concerns on this very high profile issue is a grave matter.”
In his letter, Crispin Blunt describes the suggestion implied in Sir Jeremy’s letter that the Ministerial Code only applies to Ministers’ decision-making within departments and not when involved in collective Government consideration as “a risible proposition, if it was not so serious as to significantly prejudice the national interest in this instance.”
Letter from Crispin Blunt on behalf of the Gatwick Coordination Group to Sir Jeremy Heywood, 30th June,
Crispin Blunt MP to Sir Jeremy Heywood 30 June 2015
Letter from Sir Jeremy Heywood to Crispin Blunt, 29th June
Cabinet Secretary response to Crispin Blunt MP 29 June 2015
Letter from Crispin Blunt on behalf of the Gatwick Coordination Group to Sir Jeremy Heywood, 10th June
Crispin Blunt MP to Sir Jeremy Heywood 10 June 2015
Crispin Blunt’s letter to Sir Jeremy on 30th June says:
Thank you for your letter to me of 29th June replying to mine of lOth June.
I am afraid we, the members of the Gatwick Coordination Group, are profoundly unhappy with your equivocal and, frankly, evasive response.
The Government’s consideration of the Airports Commission report will be a matter of great national importance. The existence of explicit and expressed constituency interests of senior members of the Government is a matter of record. So much so that part of the case being made by the promoters of development at Gatwick rather than Heathrow is the existence of these interests rather than the national interest.
It disgraces basic tenets of transparent and good governance that these suggestions can be made. They should be an affront to you as Cabinet Secretary. That you appear not to be in a position to address our concerns on this very high profile issue is a grave matter.
You say “these matters are considered on a case-by-case basis, reflecting specific Ministerial responsibilities and the nature of any constituency interest” as though this is yet to be undertaken. Yet this is an immediate, high profile and important issue that will presumably be decided by the whole Government, not just the Department of Transport.
The Code surely applies to ministers acting as members of the Cabinet and its Committees as well as within their departments.
Your letter does its best to imply that the Code only applies within departments and would not engage matters of collective consideration. That would be a risible proposition, if it was not so serious as to significantly prejudice the national interest in this instance.
You will also not need reminding of paragraph l.2.(h) of the general principles of the Code. [This states: “h. Ministers in the House of Commons must keep separate their roles as Minister and constituency Member;” https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/61402/ministerial-code-may-2010.pdf AW note]
Further, we recognise that it is not your role to enforce the Code, however, we do believe we are entitled to look to you to interpret it and allay obvious and published concerns as in this case. If the Ministers listed* in my letter of 10 June were involved in collective government or departmental consideration of the Airports Commission Final Report, we would regard that as a breach of the Code. You would then be consulted by the Prime Minister about our complaint. Since this is wholly foreseeable this unfortunate chain of events can and should be averted.
Please will you reconsider your response now in light of the immediate publication of the Airports Commission Final Report.
Yours sincerely
Crispin Blunt
* The Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Secretary of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs, the Secretary of State for International Development, the Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury all have constituency
interests which would, if allowed to play a role in deliberations about the Commission’s
Report, would impede a UK Government decision being reached in the national interest on
the basis of the Commission’s work.
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The reply from Sir Jeremy Heywood just said:
Sir Jeremy Heywood must have taken lessons on the art of the evasive reply from Sir Humphrey Appleby, who would have been proud of his pupil.