CONSULTANCY CONTRACTS AND THE CONDUCT OF THE RT HON MEMBERS FOR MAKERFIELD AND SHEFFIELD CENTRAL

That this House believes that, while recognising that hon. and rt. hon. Members often have rich experience to offer private sector firms, it is inappropriate for the rt. hon. Member for Makerfield, as a former trade and industry Minister, to accept a paid advisory role with US multinational engineering company Fluor; regards the reported consultancy contract of up to £115,000 a year to advise Fluor, which has considerable interest in securing multi-million pound contracts with the UK nuclear industry as unacceptable; further notes that the rt. hon. Member for Sheffield Central, a former trade minister, has been offered a non-executive directorship worth nearly £100,000 a year with the trilateral partnership of nuclear firms AMEC, AREVA of France and the Washington Group from the US, which are keen to secure multi-million contracts for the clean-up of Sellafield; believes that former ministers should not take on consultancy work so shortly after leaving government office; and calls upon the rt. hon. Members to reconsider their decision to take up these consultancies as additional employment.