Despite the government spin, the new ministerial code gives the green light to ministers accepting lucrative freebies, says campaign group Unlock Democracy.
There’s nothing in the new code to stop ministers from, for example, accepting expensive football or gig tickets. We have been urging the government to ban ministers and MPs from accepting freebies valued above £200.
It’s regrettable that the Prime Minister has decided not to turn the page on this issue and clearly signal to the public that his government will be different.
No change either for former ministers looking to take on other jobs outside government, even though it’s been made clear that ACOBA (Advisory Committee of Business Appointments) is not able to enforce the current rules.
A slap on the wrist provides little deterrent for former ministers with the brass neck to defy ACOBA.
The new code also goes back on the Sunak government’s intention to publish meetings with Ministers monthly.
We need to know as promptly as possible if, for example, before drafting a gambling bill, Ministers are only meeting with gambling companies. Six months later is no use.
This relative lack of progress is regrettable when it took Starmer longer than many predecessors, including Johnson, Cameron, Sunak and Brown, to reissue the Ministerial Code in the first place.
Cameron, the last LOTO (Leader of the Opposition) to become PM, took three weeks. STARMER TOOK FOUR MONTHS.
Climate campaigners have revealed the huge lobbying operation by fossil fuel interests pushing expensive and inefficient hydrogen technology onto Scottish Government and MSPs.
Campaigners unearthed over 30 meetings with oil and gas companies where hydrogen was discussed, along with an additional 70 meetings with companies who stood to benefit from the roll out of hydrogen technology in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has pledged over £100 million to this industry and has refused to rule out using hydrogen from fossil fuels. Ministers even refer to fossil fuel derived hydrogen as ‘low carbon’ despite the methane leakage during gas production and the extra energy required to run the partial carbon capture process upon which it relies.
The revelations show a huge push by fossil fuel giants like BP and Shell – who met MSPs 17 and 9 times respectively – demonstrating how hard the industry is pressing politicians to claim hydrogen as a climate solution despite mounting evidence that the technology is too expensive and inefficient.
Evidence shows that using hydrogen for heating our homes is more expensive and less efficient than direct electrification through technologies like heat pumps. Hydrogen is not suitable for most transport needs due to cost and how far the technology is behind electrification.
KEY LOBBYING INCIDENTS
On the same day (10/11/21) during COP26 as the Scottish Government published their draft Hydrogen Action Plan it organised a lavish dinner for the Hydrogen industry with 52 company lobbyists at Edinburgh Castle that FOIs reveal cost the public purse £11,000. It was attended by BP, INEOS, Shell, Wood Group and Offshore Energies UK. It was hosted by Business Minister Ivan McKee and attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Then Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero Michael Matheson travelled to Rotterdam in May 2022 to speak at the World Hydrogen Summit which marketed itself as ‘the global platform where hydrogen deals get done.’
The two day conference had host partners BP and Shell and “diamond sponsorship” from Saudi oil company Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
Shell met with then Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse in January 2021, where the official record states Shell specifically ’emphasized the importance of both blue and green hydrogen.’
Friends of the Earth Scotland climate campaigner Alex Lee commented: “Hydrogen lobbyists have made a targeted push trying to persuade the Scottish Government to ignore the mounting evidence about the technology’s inefficiency and huge costs.
“By incorrectly classifying hydrogen from fossil fuels as ‘low carbon’, Scottish Ministers are doing the greenwashing job for fossil fuel companies. Big polluters like Shell and BP are selling hydrogen hard because it allows them to keep on drilling for fossil fuels and keep the public locked into an energy system using oil and gas for decades to come.
“The Scottish Government has been taken in by the marketing hype around hydrogen, promising over £100 million of public money to the industry and repeating outlandish jobs creation claims.
“Ministers must end their support for hydrogen from fossil fuels and instead use renewable power directly in heating and transport rather than wasting time and energy by converting it to hydrogen first.
“If the Scottish Government want to tackle the climate crisis and deliver a just transition away from oil and gas, it must cut ties with the fossil fuel industry and ban them from lobbying.”
FRIENDS of the EARTH: OIL & GAS INDUSTRY LOBBIED SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT 200+ TIMES UNDER STURGEON’S ‘OPEN-DOOR POLICY’ TO POLLUTERS
Research conducted by Friends of the Earth Scotland has uncovered the shocking extent of the oil and gas industry lobbying of the Scottish Government under Nicola Sturgeon.
Campaigners are concerned that the influence and lobbying by the fossil fuel industry has weakened the Scottish Government’s climate commitments and is slowing action on the transition away from fossil fuels. Oil lobbyists met Ministers as they were preparing the Climate Change Act in 2019, in the runup to COP26, and ahead of the recently published Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.
The fossil fuel industry has made hundreds of billions in profits in recent years as household bills have soared. Oil companies are pushing to expand and drill new fields despite the devastating climate impacts of burning fossil fuels.
Campaigners are calling on Humza Yousaf’s new Government to make a clean break from the old regime and end the ‘open door policy’ to big polluters like Shell, BP and Equinor.
The analysis revealed that Ministers met oil company lobbyists nearly once a week over 4 years.
Meetings uncovered include then Finance Secretary Kate Forbes meeting with oil company Equinor during the COP26 climate conference, Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse meeting with BP and Shell in consecutive years at the opera in Florence, Italy, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met with the President of Petrochina at Bute House.
++ SCALE OF OIL & GAS LOBBYING ++
Analysis of the Scottish Government’s Lobbying Register and its Ministerial Diaries shows that:
From March 2018 (when the Lobbying Register began) to December 2022, there were 212 recorded meetings between Scottish Government ministers and representatives of the fossil fuel industry.
Of these meetings, junior ministers were present at 115 meetings, Cabinet Secretaries 71 times, Special Advisors 26 times and the First Minister attended 12 of the meetings.
Michael Matheson MSP and Paul Wheelhouse MSP were the industry’s favourites, both clocking up 39 meetings each.
The other members of the Government who met the industry more than 10 times were Ivan McKee MSP, Richard Lochhead MSP and Kate Forbes MSP.
SSE was the most active company with 62 meetings followed by BP with 32 and oil lobby group Offshore Energies UK with 22Scottish Government meetings.
Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Mary Church said: “Burning fossil fuels is the major driver of climate breakdown yet the arsonists are being asked how to put out the fire. Under Sturgeon it is clear that the Scottish Government has had an open-door policy towards the fossil fuel industry for years.
“Whilst the true scale of fossil fuel company lobbying is likely to be even greater than what is detailed here, this data, and the Scottish Government’s continued overreliance on speculative technologies that are designed to prolong the life of oil and gas, show that the industry’s lobbying machine has been allowed to exert a harmful influence over decision making on climate and energy.
“The fossil fuel industry has known about the danger of climate breakdown for decades and not only failed to act, but deliberately buried and obscured the truth about their role in driving it. They have repeatedly proven that they cannot be trusted to deliver a just energy transition. If tobacco companies can be banned from lobbying about healthcare, then by the same principle the fossil fuel industry must be stopped from lobbying on climate and energy.
“To avoid catastrophic climate impacts, and do our fair share globally, we must phase out oil and gas in this decade. As First Minister, Humza Yousaf has the chance to chart a new path away from fossil fuels without the industry trying to call the shots. If his Government is serious about tackling the climate crisis and delivering a just transition, it must cut ties with the fossil fuel industry and ban them from lobbying.”
Campaigners are highlighting how the Scottish Government is still heavily reliant on Carbon Capture and Storage and hydrogen to meet their climate targets, technologies which are backed by the oil and gas companies as a way to prolong the lifespan of the industry. However, these technologies are unproven at the scale envisaged and it is indisputable that they will not be developed in time to meet the need for urgent action.
In many instances it is clear from the research that the fossil fuel industry scheduled meetings with Ministers in the lead up to decisions being made that would impact their business.
For example, in May and June 2022, Equinor held meetings with Minister for Just Transition Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon shortly before they announced their plans to develop the controversial Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, in August 2022. The Scottish Government has so far failed to directly speak out against Rosebank’s development, despite it being over three times the size of the Cambo oil field which it opposed in 2021.
The fossil fuel industry has had a significant impact on climate policy globally, often pushing for weaker regulations, denying climate science and blocking the transition to renewable energy.
++ CAMPAIGN DEMANDS END TO OIL & GAS LOBBYING ++
A global campaign to cut ties between the fossil fuel industry and the main United Nations body that tackles climate change – the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – has been calling for a conflict of interest policy that would ban the industry from meetings like Glasgow’s COP26.
There is precedent for companies with vested interest in harmful industries being excluded from decision making spaces, with the World Health Organisation banning lobbying from the tobacco industry on global health policy in 2003.
Campaigners are calling for the new First Minister Humza Yousaf to end the relationship between the fossil fuel industry and the Scottish Government, by ending lobbying meetings between ministers and representatives of the fossil fuel industry. Only meetings necessary to regulate and transition the industry should be permitted, and these should be called by public officials and held transparently.
The Poverty Alliance have launched our new campaigning tool to allow you to easily email your constituency and regional MSPs urging them to push for the doubling of the Scottish Child Payment now. Children growing up in the grip of poverty can’t wait.
Our e-action comes after over 120 anti-poverty organisations, children’s charities, community groups, think tanks, trade unions, faith leaders – including the Moderator of the Church of Scotland – and academics wrote to the First Minister urging her to “do the right thing” by using the upcoming Programme for Government to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget, the £10 per week per child benefit for low income families.
The letter – coordinated by members of the End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland – states that doubling the payment now would “signal that ending child poverty will be a defining priority for this Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament.”
‘Do the right thing and double the Scottish Child Payment now’ civil society coalition tells First Minister
A coalition of over 100 anti-poverty organisations, children’s charities, community groups, think tanks, trade unions, faith leaders – including the Moderator of the Church of Scotland – and academics have today written to the First Minister urging her to “do the right thing” by using the upcoming Programme for Government to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget, the £10 per week per child benefit for low income families.
The letter – coordinated by members of the End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland – states that doubling the payment now would “signal that ending child poverty will be a defining priority for this Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament.” It has been sent after the Scottish Government – despite all of Scotland’s five main political parties committing to the move at May’s Holyrood elections – have so far failed to set a timescale for the doubling of the payment, stating only that it will take place by the end of the parliamentary term in 2026. The campaigners say the increase is needed now to help families recover from the pandemic and to meet the government’s own statutory 2023/24 interim child poverty targets.
The coalition has issued the plea at a time of growing concern over the numbers of people across the country – particularly women, disabled people and Black and minority ethnic people – being pulled into hardship and with analysis showing that, on current trends, the Scottish Government will fail to meet its child poverty reduction targets.
The letter issues the stark warning that if Scottish ministers fail to double the payment now then “more and more children will be pulled into poverty and the opportunity to meet the interim child poverty targets will be missed.”
Polly Jones (Head of Scotland, Trussell Trust), said:“Food bank use has rocketed by 63% over the last five years because people can’t afford the basics. Over the last year, families have struggled more than most. We have the powers and we have the cross-party consensus to double the Scottish Child Payment now. If Scottish ministers are serious about making ending child poverty a ‘national mission’ then we must not delay.”
Eilidh Dickson (Policy and Parliamentary Manager, Engender) said:“Child poverty and women’s poverty are inextricably linked. Women continue to provide the majority of care for children, are more likely to work in underpaid and undervalued roles, and to work part time or rely on precarious contracts. Women are also twice as likely as men to rely on social security for all or part of their income, even when aspects, for example the two-child limit, mean it fails to meet their needs.
Doubling the Scottish Child Payment is an urgently needed response to supporting children and their caregivers. The Scottish Government must implement this now as part of its mission to eradicate child poverty, while also looking to the gender pay gap action plan and other reforms to social security. The pandemic only adds further urgency to this call as inequality and poverty deepen.”
Professor John McKendrick (Co-Director, Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University) said:“Poverty in Scotland can be solved, and we should not accept it. The Scottish Child Payment is a bold and progressive development that has the potential to lift many children out of poverty. But, with a rising tide of child poverty threatening to overwhelm, communities across Scotland, this potential needs to be realised now. If we are serious about tackling child poverty, doubling the payment now is the right thing for the Scottish Government to do.”
Larry Flanagan (General Secretary, EIS) said:“The EIS unequivocally supports the call for the Scottish Government to act decisively against child poverty and double the Child Payment now rather than delaying when there is urgent need. Levels of poverty experienced by families in Scotland continue to be unacceptably high, worsened by the economic ravages of the pandemic.
The real risk that poverty poses to the educational outcomes and life chances of large numbers of children is one that Scotland as a country simply should not be taking as we look to emergence from the pandemic and education recovery.”
The letter – along with the full list of signatories – can be read here:
The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) has released the results from its annual member satisfaction survey this month, highlighting widespread industry support for continued remote collaboration to deliver positive change.
The survey, which gained 68 company responses from the AVA’s 180-strong member base, also showcased an influx in internal sentiment, in that the trade body has seen a 36% increase over four years for those who would recommend AVA membership – just over 90% of respondents.
AVA members also used the annual survey to highlight the services they value most in their membership, with 57.5% of members surveyed stating ongoing lobbying on key legislation is crucial in the industry’s post-pandemic recovery.
In response to this feedback, the AVA has bolstered its external communication and lobbying activity by enlisting reputation management agency, Definition.
The topics and issues covered include the ongoing lobbying for support from the government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG), Additional Restriction Grants (ARGs), an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for hospitality businesses.
AVA members also utilised this survey to highlight the need for ongoing technical advice and knowledge updates, both during the end of lockdown and when restrictions ease.
The AVA has seen a 50% increase in technical and knowledge advice since the pandemic began and has pledged to continue this with a busy webinar and internal committee schedule into 2021 and beyond.
David Llewellyn, chief executive of the AVA said: “The Automatic Vending Association is dedicated to upholding the needs of our members in what is still an immensely difficult time for their respective businesses.
“However, members should also be encouraged to join the effort to lobby for support, as we are more likely to be successful in our fight if more members show enthusiasm across the United Kingdom.
“Ways of doing this range from sharing the AVA’s social content and sharing content of your own online, all the way to reaching out to your local MP with our press releases to engage support on a local and national level.
“With the support of our members, local members of parliament and communications team, we can look to rebuild from the damage the pandemic has done to business in the wider foodservice industry, including AVA members.”
To keep up to date with the Automatic Vending Association’s lobbying activity, visit: https://www.the-ava.com/news.
Members of the Power to the People group are calling on local groups and individuals from North Edinburgh to join them at a lobby of the full council meeting on Thursday 21 January to protest against what Unison describe as the “worst cuts in living memory”. Continue reading SOS – Save Our Services!
