Both Parliament’s Speakers are calling for it to be made more difficult to set up parliamentary interest groups following concerns they are being targeted by lobbying groups backed by big money.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Lord McFall, Speakers in the House of Commons and Lords respectively, said those establishing new all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) should have to explain “how and by whom” it is funded. In a letter to the Committee of Standards, they also pressed for such groups to be “struck from the register” if they fail to produce annual accounts.
The letter, dated January 11, followed a Sky News investigation suggesting some APPGs benefited from donations handed over by “registered lobbying agencies”. APPGs are informal interest groups led by MPs and peers that facilitate cross-party work on issues or interests.
Reports published by such groups can attract media attention and ministers have been known to attend meetings to speak to members. They are not official parliamentary bodies, nor do they have powers, but according to Sky News’ investigation, they have received more than £20 million from external organisations since the 2019 general election, with registered lobbying agencies “dominating the ranks of the biggest benefactors”.
The Committee of Standards, led by Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant, held a consultation last year calling for views on plans to reform the rules around APPGs. Sir Lindsay and Lord McFall said they had “been keen, for some time, to see the regulation of APPGs strengthened and improved”.
They said the “barrier to constituting an APPG is too low” and pressed for a “defined gatekeeper” to be set-up to approve future groups.
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