Mark Mans

Lieutenant General Sir Mark Mans KCB CBE DL is a former British Army officer who retired in 2012.

Concern over post army career conflicts of interest

In September 2016 Spinwatch and Unlock Democracy cited case of Mans in written evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee enquiry into the effectiveness of ACOBA and the problem of the revolving door of government officials moving into the private sector:

A number of public officials have also taken up roles which require contact with their former departments. Lieutenant-General Sir Mark Mans, Adjutant-General to the Forces from 2009-2012 applied to ACoBA for approval to take up posts with Allocate Software and Capita Defence Services. Both have contracts with the MoD and would require contact with his former department. This represents a serious conflict of interest. Although ACoBA may prevent former public officials from lobbying, the Business Appointment Rules state that ‘the lobbying ban need not prevent communications with government’. The line between communication and lobbying can be fine and the presence of contacts and the ‘friendly faces’ of former colleagues could prevent neutrality in dealings regarding contracts. As well as improving ACoBA’s definition of lobbying, we recommend extending the maximum lobbying ban period to five years, to be used in the most high-risk cases.