Business Appointment Rules for ministers

Before you take up any new paid or unpaid appointment outside of government within two years of leaving ministerial office, you must apply for advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

This is set out in the Ministerial Code, and in the letters each minister receives from their permanent secretary and the Independent Adviser on leaving office.

The Business Appointment Rules for former ministers seek to counter suspicion that:

• the decisions and statements of a serving minister might be influenced by the hope or expectation of future employment with a particular firm or organisation; or
• an employer could make improper use of official information to which a former minister has had access; or
• there may be cause for concern about the appointment in some other particular respect.

Separately, former ministers also need to ensure they comply with the rules set out by the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, and, where relevant, the Code of Conduct and Rules of the House of Commons or House of Lords Code of Conduct.

There are different Business Appointment Rules for other Crown servants (for example, civil servants).