Statutory lobbying register still excludes in-house lobbyists

The Lobbying Act 2014 register covers only consultant lobbyists contacting ministers and permanent secretaries; in-house corporate lobbyists (most of the industry) are exempt. PACAC's post-legislative scrutiny and Transparency International UK's November 2025 review documented the regime's weaknesses, yet the December 2025 Anti-Corruption Strategy contained no lobbying commitment at all, a gap the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition called out explicitly. Baroness Hayter's Lobbying Transparency (In-house Lobbyists) Bill, introduced 1 June 2026, is a Lords private member's bill with no government backing. Departmental meeting disclosures remain quarterly, published months late, with one-line purpose descriptions.

Greensill demonstrated how in-house and informal lobbying escapes the register entirely. Without coverage of in-house lobbyists and timely meeting data, the public record of who influences UK policy is structurally incomplete, and every future scandal is discovered by journalists rather than disclosure.

A government-backed amendment extending registration to in-house lobbying (adopting the Hayter Bill), plus a single machine-readable platform publishing ministerial, SpAd and senior-official meetings monthly with meaningful subject descriptions.

// State-led: Instrument: government-backed amendment adopting the Hayter Bill; in-house lobbying data cannot exist without the statutory duty.

In-house lobbyists, most of the industry, stay off the register; a ready private-member bill exists but government omitted lobbying entirely from its strategy, so pressure is low.