Secondments

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Civil Service – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 4 July 1988.

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Photo of Mr Richard Luce Mr Richard Luce , Shoreham 12:00, 4 July 1988

I do not know whether I should commiserate with the hon. Gentleman, who, just a few seconds ago, was on the Front Bench, but has now gone to the Back Bench. He suggests that there is sometimes a conflict of interests between the duties of civil servants who take outside jobs and their duties as former civil servants. There is a clear procedure for this, which is supervised by the Diamond committee. The most important thing is to ensure that there is no conflict of interests. I am satisfied that the procedures which are working now are satisfactory. Provided that there is no conflict of interests, it is healthy that civil servants should have experience of commerce and industry.