Alex Chisholm

Sir Alex sought the Commission’s advice about taking up a role with the Whitehall and Industry Group. The letter containing the Commission’s consideration and the conditions imposed on the appointment was sent in February 2026. The appointment was taken up in March 2026.

The letter is attached as a PDF and in HTML format.

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Cabinet Office 

26 February 2026

Unpaid appointment with The Whitehall and Industry Group: Application under the Business Appointment Rules from Sir Alex Chisholm KCB, former Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office. 

The Civil Service Commission (the Commission) has considered an application for advice under the Business Appointment Rules (the Rules) from Sir Alex Chisholm KCB, formerly Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office. The application is for an unpaid, part-time role as a Patron at The Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG). Further detail on the content of the application is in the Annex. The Commission’s advice is required as Sir Alex is a former civil servant at SCS Pay Band 4. His last day of service was 13 April 2024.

The purpose of the Rules is to protect the integrity of the government. They aim to avoid any reasonable concerns that: a civil servant may be influenced in their official duties by the risk of reward; a civil servant may improperly exploit access to information; and an organisation may gain an improper influence through the employment of a civil servant. 

The Commission’s advice¹ is that the appointment with WIG should be made subject to the following conditions: 

1. Privileged information – Sir Alex should not draw on (disclose or use for the benefit of himself or the persons or organisations to which this advice refers) any privileged information available to him from his time in office.
2. Lobbying – For two years from his last day in office, until 13 April 2026, Sir Alex should not become personally involved in lobbying the UK government or its arm’s length bodies on behalf of WIG (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients). He should also not use, directly or indirectly, his contacts in the government and/or civil service to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage WIG (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients). 
3. Bids and contracts – For two years from his last day in the civil service, until 13 April 2026, Sir Alex should not provide advice to WIG on a bid or contract relating to the UK government or its arm’s length bodies.

The Rules set out that civil servants must abide by the Commission’s advice. It is Sir Alex’s personal responsibility to manage the propriety of any appointment and to understand any other rules and regulations he may be subject to in parallel with the Commission’s advice. 

Sir Alex must seek advice if he proposes to extend or otherwise change his role with the organisation. Once this appointment has been publicly announced or taken up, the letter will be published on the Civil Service Commission’s website.

Yours sincerely, 

Kate Owen

Chief Executive

1. See Advice under the Business Appointment Rules for details applying to all advice issued by the Civil Service Commission. ↩︎