Ministry of Defence

 

25 November 2025

 

 

Unpaid appointment with the UK’s Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community: Application under the Business Appointment Rules from Mr Paul Lincoln, former Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence.

 

Thank you for submitting an application for advice under the Business Appointment Rules[1] (the Rules) to the Civil Service Commission (the Commission) on behalf of Paul Lincoln, formerly Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence. The application is for an unpaid role as Chair of the UK’s Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community (RISC). Further detail on the content of the application is in the Annex. The Commission’s advice is required as Mr Lincoln is a former civil servant at SCS Pay Band 4. His last day of service was 9 May 2025.

 

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 advice is that the appointment should be made subject to the following conditions:

 

  1. Mr Lincoln 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[2] available to him from his time in the civil service.
  2. For two years from his last day in civil service office (until 9 May 2027) Mr Lincoln should not become personally involved in lobbying[3] the UK government or its arm’s length bodies on behalf of the UK’s Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients); nor should Mr Lincoln make use, directly or indirectly, of his contacts in the government and/or civil service to influence policy, secure business/funding or otherwise unfairly advantage the UK’s Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and clients).
  3. For two years from his last day in civil service, until 9 May 2027, Mr Lincoln should not provide advice to the UK’s Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community 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 or its arm’s length bodies.

 

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

 

Mr Lincoln 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,

Gisela Stuart

First Civil Service Commissioner

 

 

Annex A: The application

Applicant assessment

 

  1. According to its website, the UK’s Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community (RISC) is an alliance of trade associations, suppliers and other organisations that represent the UK’s security and resilience sector. Mr Lincoln said RISC was created at the behest of the Home Office to streamline engagement with the security sector, acting collectively and transparently in the national interest to implement UK national security objectives and fulfil the economic potential of the UK security and resilience sector. Established in 2007, RISC serves as the principal channel of communication between the UK security and resilience industry, the Homeland Security Group (HSG) within the Home Office, and other government departments and agencies on security-related requirements and policy issues.

 

  1. Mr Lincoln said the role of Chair is responsible for overseeing the work of RISC, and providing guidance and direction drawn from the role-holder’s direct experience within the security and resilience sector. The role is defined by each individual Chair, but typically they are expected to:

●      chair meetings of the RISC Council;

●      co-chair meetings of the Security and Growth Partnership with the Home Office;

●      lead RISC’s high-level engagement, predominantly focused on the Home Office and the security export team within the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), supporting them in the growth agenda; and

●      undertake to offer constructive advice, consultation, and guidance to Government, working in a collaborative manner that is independent of individual association or business agendas, whilst ensuring that those interests are appropriately considered.

 

  1. Mr. Lincoln stated that the role of Chair at RISC supports the national interest in regard to growth, as well as security and resilience. This set of circumstances has led the RISC founding partners that appoint the Chair (ADS, BSIA, and Tech UK) to require that the ideal candidate have recent senior government experience and credibility. Mr. Lincoln further stated that the role is considered strategic, and does not involve advocating or lobbying to government for any particular company or set of capabilities.

 

  1. Mr Lincoln was Second Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), between August 2023 and March 2025. In this role he stated that his responsibilities included digital transformation across defence, security and resilience (including cyber security), space policy, science and technology, safety, defence strategy, net assessment and challenge, trade and economic security, and strategic relationships with industry. He was also responsible for the MOD Head Office budget.

 

  1. Mr Lincoln said that he had a broad relationship with the defence industry, including with overarching trade bodies. Implications of his work were strategic and with whole sectors, not focused on individual companies. Mr Lincoln noted he was not responsible for funding decisions affecting RISC.

CSC analysis

  1. Application Level: As a Level 1 (low risk) application for an unpaid Chair role, the appointment is assessed against the criteria for unpaid roles. The Commission's analysis applies the principle that this category of appointment is generally recognised as posing a lower risk to government integrity.

 

  1. Risk of reward. Mr Lincoln stated he was not responsible for contracts or commercial competitions at the MOD. The focus of his work was broad and strategic, with whole sectors, and not focused on individual companies. The risk that his appointment was made as a result of preferential decisions made in post is limited.

 

  1. Access to information. At the MOD Mr Lincoln was responsible for sensitive and strategic areas outlined above. There is a clear overlap between his former portfolio and the sector represented by RISC. However, the risk of him exploiting this information to gain an unfair advantage is limited by several factors:

●      Mr Lincoln stated that the focus of his MOD role was strategic and with whole sectors, which means it is unlikely he was privy to specific sensitive information;

●      His new role primarily focuses on the broader security and resilience sector which mostly interacts with the Home Office, a department he had fewer direct interactions with in his MOD role; and

●      The risk is managed by the standard conditions that apply.

 

  1. Improper influence.  His previous role means that Mr Lincoln has a network of contacts and influence at the highest levels of UK government and the MOD, which raises the risk that he could offer any organisation unfair access to government. The role of Chair is inherently strategic and involves working in partnership with government. His responsibilities would explicitly include co-chairing meetings with the Security Minister and leading RISC’s high-level engagement with the Home Office and DBT to support the government’s growth agenda.

 

  1. The risk of improper influence, or the perception of it, is amplified by:

●      The requirement for the postholder to offer recent senior government experience and credibility, which links the appointment to the candidate’s government network and expertise.

●      The founding partners who appoint the Chair are trade associations that advocate for their sectors. This structure means that while the Chair role is described as strategic, the appointment is made by commercial representative bodies with a central function to influence the government on behalf of their members.

 

  1. However, these risks are mitigated because:

●      RISC was formally created at the request of the Home Office and acts as the government’s principal conduit to the security sector. This established framework limits the risk of his contact being seen as an improper use of his network over a competing body.

●      Mr. Lincoln has stated the role does not involve advocating or lobbying for any particular company or set of capabilities, and the role's mandate supports the national interest, not individual business agendas.

●      Remaining risks around lobbying would be mitigated by standard conditions, which would prevent him from using government contacts to unfairly benefit RISC (including parent companies, subsidiaries, partners, and clients).

 

 

 


[1] See the Business appointment rules for Crown servants.

[2] Meaning official information to which a civil servant has had access as a consequence of his or her office or employment and which has not been made publicly available.

[3] As defined in the rules.