The government has published new guidance for Ministers to engage with developers, particularly of relevance to planning ministers when dealing with propriety issues and when taking planning casework decisions.
Richard Patient, managing director of Thorncliffe, said:
“These are great guidelines. They encourage Ministers to engage with developers and those with interests in planning decisions, but acknowledge that the planning process is very procedural. Ministers must go the extra mile to not only abide by the rules, but importantly be seen to abide by the rules. The new rules are quite simple and are in line other ministerial procedures and codes. They put an end to allegations of having a quiet word with the minister, as the new rules specifically warn about social media and private conversations.
“At Thorncliffe, we welcome these rules. We interact with ministers and other politicians, and our externally-enforced code of conduct has been approved by an independent Government organisation, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists. Together with our Investor in People Gold award, we provide our clients with the gold standard in best practice.”