Ross apologises to appointments watchdog

Thames Water co-chief executive Cathryn Ross has apologised to the chair of Whitehall’s post-government appointments watchdog after he raised concerns that the former Ofwat chief executive implied she had received the body’s sign off before moving into the private sector.

Quizzed on Radio 4’s Today programme on 10 July about regulators moving to better paid private sector roles, Ross said all outgoing regulators had to receive permission from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) for jobs they can do after leaving public service.

She said: “They (Acoba) can restrict the type of work that you do. Everybody who goes from a regulator into any regulated sector is subject to those rules and I’m sure they would abide by them as I did.”

However Lord Pickles, chair of Acoba, wrote to Ross expressing “concern” about her suggestion that she had received advice from his body, which the Conservative peer wrote had not happened.

Ross, who was recently appointed co-chief executive officer of Thames following Sarah Bentley’s shock resignation last month, joined Thames in 2021 following a spell at BT after leaving Ofwat in 2017.

Pickles also rejected her suggestion that “all” regulators are subject to advice from Acoba on leaving office, adding this is not within his organisation’s remit.

In her response, published on the government’s website, Ross apologises to the former Cabinet minister and explains that at the time the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had responsibility  for vetting her move to BT, which was approved.

Ross’ move to Thames came after the two year period during which she was required to seek Defra’s approval for job moves.

Approvals for post-government moves from the role of Ofwat chief executive have subsequently come under Acoba’s remit.

She writes: “I did not intend to imply that my appointment at BT Group was approved by Acoba…and apologise if it came across in that way when I addressed the broader issue of the process governing business appointments for former civil servants.”

In his reply to Ross, Lord Pickles accepts her apology, adding that he believes “it was not your intention to misrepresent the government’s business appointment system or Acoba’s role”.

“It is clear to me that you simply misspoke and I now regard this matter closed,’ he writes, adding that the “picture is very mixed and lacks transparency which can cause confusion”.