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1. BUSINESS APPOINTMENT APPLICATION: Lieutenant General Sir Nick Borton KCB DSO MBE, former Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), Ministry of Defence. Paid appointment with Babcock International Group Plc, to deliver mentorship to the British Army.

Lieutenant General Sir Nick Borton KCB DSO MBE (Lt Gen Sir Nick) approached the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (the Committee) under the government鈥檚 Business Appointments Rules for Former Ministers (the Rules) seeking advice on taking up an appointment with Babcock International group Plc (Babcock) as a Senior Mentor to a Commander in the British Army.

The purpose of the Rules is to protect the integrity of the government. The Committee has considered the risks associated with the actions and decisions made during Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 time in office, alongside the information and influence he may offer Babcock. The material information taken into consideration by the Committee is set out in the annex below.

The Committee鈥檚 advice is not an endorsement of the appointment - it imposes a number of conditions to mitigate the potential risks to the government associated with the appointment under the Rules.

The Rules^{[footnote 1]} set out that Crown servants must abide by the Committee鈥檚 advice. It is an applicant鈥檚 personal responsibility to manage the propriety of any appointment. Former Crown servants are expected to uphold the highest standards of propriety and act in accordance with the 7 Principles of Public Life.

2. The Committee鈥檚 consideration of the risks presented

Lt Gen Sir Nick did not make any policy, commercial or regulatory decisions specific to Babcock whilst in Crown service, nor did he meet with the company. There is an extensive relationship between the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Babcock. However, Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 role in office was operational and this role is limited to working in a mentorship capacity to a Commander in the British Army as part of a wider training exercise. He will not be working directly with Babcock or its staff. Therefore, the Committee^{[footnote 2]} determined that the risk of reward for actions taken in office was low.

Given Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 role within the MOD, he will have general access to sensitive information on defence and security that could benefit a range of organisations. Whilst Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 mentorship role is based in defence, it is limited to a specific, short-term training exercise that will draw on skills, experience and knowledge of command within the field. The MOD is not aware of any specific information that would provide an unfair advantage to Babcock or its supplier, Mabway, in this role.

The Committee recognised there may be some discussion between the British Army and Lt Gen Sir Nick that is privileged. This would not be contrary to the privileged information ban and the ongoing duty of confidentiality that applies to all officials on leaving post.

Due to the limited nature of his role, it is unlikely that Lt Gen Sir Nick will draw on his network of contacts gained in office to the unfair advantage of Babcock. Although Lt Gen Sir Nick will have contact with the British Army, his role will not involve any lobbying or further contact with government, the MOD or its Arm鈥檚 Length Bodies.

3. The Committee鈥檚 advice

The Committee determined the risks identified in this application can be appropriately mitigated by the conditions below. These make it clear Lt Gen Sir Nick cannot make use of his access to privileged information, contacts or influence gained from his time in Crown service to the unfair advantage of Babcock or Mabway. In coming to this view, the Committee considered it significant that this advice only provides approval to work in the limited capacity described here, as a mentor to the British Army, and with no responsibilities or work with Bacbcok of Mabway beyond that.

In addition, in relation to privileged information, the Committee considered the condition below, which prevents Lt Gen Sir Nick from drawing on his privileged information, should not apply to where he advises the British Army, where he could not reasonably be perceived as offering insight that may confer an unfair advantage. However, he is reminded he must treat any information gained from the British Army with the same ongoing duty of confidentiality.

The Committee advises, under the Government鈥檚 Business Appointment Rules, that Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 role with the Babcock International Group Plc should be subject to the following conditions:

• he must not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of himself, Babcock or Mabway) any privileged information available to him from his time in Crown service or any ongoing contact with the UK government/the MOD with the exception of advising the British Army for the purpose of this mentoring role;

• for two years from his last day in Crown service, he should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK government or any of its arm鈥檚 length bodies on behalf of Babcock International Group Plc (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); nor should he make use, directly or indirectly, of his contacts in government and/or Crown service to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage Babcock International Group Plc (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients) and;

• for two years from his last day in Crown service, he should not provide advice to Babcock International Group Plc (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients) on the terms of, or with regard to the subject matter of, a bid or contract with, or relating directly to the work of the UK government, the Ministry of Defence or its trading funds.

The advice and the conditions under the government鈥檚 Business Appointment Rules relate to Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 previous role in government only; they are separate from rules administered by other bodies such as the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Registrar of Lords鈥� Interests^{[footnote 3]}. It is an applicant鈥檚 personal responsibility to understand any other rules and regulations they may be subject to in parallel with this Committee鈥檚 advice.

By 鈥榩rivileged information鈥� we mean official information to which a Minister or Crown servant has had access as a consequence of his or her office or employment and which has not been made publicly available. Applicants are also reminded that they may be subject to other duties of confidentiality, whether under the Official Secrets Act, the Civil Service Code or otherwise.

The Business Appointment Rules explain that the restriction on lobbying means that the former Crown servant/Minister 鈥榮hould not engage in communication with Government (Ministers, civil servants, including special advisers, and other relevant officials/public office holders) 鈥� wherever it takes place - with a view to influencing a Government decision, policy or contract award/grant in relation to their own interests or the interests of the organisation by which they are employed, or to whom they are contracted or with which they hold office鈥�.

You must inform us as soon as Lt Gen Sir Nick takes up employment with this organisation, or if it is announced that he will do so, by emailing the office at the above address. Please also inform us if he proposes to extend or otherwise change the nature of his role as, depending on the circumstances, it may be necessary for him to make a fresh application.

Once the appointment has been publicly announced or taken up, we will publish this letter on the Committee鈥檚 website, and where appropriate, refer to it in the relevant annual report.

4. Annex- Material Information

4.1 The role

Lt Gen Sir Nick said 3rd (United Kingdom) Division, British Army is the British Army warfighting division. The British Army uses Babcock to deliver the administration and background support to deliver some of their exercises including this one- Exercise Cerberus. However, the contract for Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 mentorship is facilitated by Mabway, a company that delivers managed services to the government and industry including exercise support, training and security services, as a subcontractor of Babcock. The contract is provided by Babcock - and will be paying Lt Gen Sir Nick.

Babcock is a leading provider of critical, complex engineering services which support national defence. It has numerous and significant contracts across the MOD.

Lt Gen Sir Nick said he is being employed to use his previous military experience as a Brigade, Division and Corps Commander to provide mentorship to the Commander of 3 Div (Maj Gen Oliver Brown) on his exercise. He stated he will be solely working with the Commander and his staff to provide advice and personal mentorship to him to assist him in his command in the field. Lt Gen Sir Nick stated he was requested by the British Army for the role as he is one of the very few people with the required formation command experience qualified to do it. He confirmed he will not be engaging government outside of 3 Div and its commanding officer. He stated it is a purely tactical activity in Germany on the UK training area. He will not be working for or with Babcock staff, and it is a limited engagement.

4.2 Dealings in office

Lt Gen Sir Nick said that he did not make any policy, commercial or regulatory decisions specific to Babcock in office, nor did he meet with the company.

4.3 Departmental assessment

The MOD confirmed the information provided, including that the Army had requested Lt Gen Sir Nick due to his operational experience.

The MOD said that it was not aware of any particular information that Lt Gen Sir Nick has access to that could provide Babcock with an unfair advantage. The MOD stated that Lt Gen Sir Nick鈥檚 role is concerned with individual mentoring which will not benefit Babcock or Mabway or provide them with commercial advantage. The MOD confirmed Lt Gen Sir Nick did not have any direct involvement in any of the MOD鈥檚 relationships with companies and organisations operating in the same area of management consultancy capability as Babcock.

The MOD said Lt Gen Sir Nick has had influence at the highest levels of UK MOD. Though he is unlikely to have any contact with government in general, standard restrictions will need to be put in place to mitigate the risk of perception that Babcock could gain undue advantage through use of his contacts as well as to mitigate the risk that the appointment would give Babcock undue influence with the MOD, UK government over competitors.