Decision

Harper, Mark - Secretary of State, Department of Transport - ACOBA advice

Advice to the Rt Hon Mark Harper, former Secretary of State at the Department for Transport on business appointments after leaving Crown service.

• From: Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
• Published: 19 July 2017
• Last updated: 30 September 2025 — See all updates

Documents

Advice letter: Mark Harper, Non-executive Director, Reconnaissance Ventures Limited

PDF, 146 KB, 6 pages

Advice letter: Mark Harper, Non-executive Director, Reconnaissance Ventures Limited

HTML

ACOBA advice letter: Mark Harper, Senior Adviser, DWF LLP

PDF, 124 KB, 2 pages

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Details

The Rt Hon Mark Harper left his role at the Department for Transport in July 2024.

Non-Executive Director, Reconnaissance Ventures Limited

The Rt Hon Mark Harper sought the Committee’s advice about taking up an appointment with Reconnaissance Ventures Limited. The letter containing the Committee’s consideration and the conditions imposed on the appointment was sent in March 2025; and the appointment was taken up later that month. An accessible version of the letter is available here.

Amendment to Lord Harper’s role with Reconnaissance Ventures Limited

Lord Harper informed the Committee of a potential update to his role in August 2025. He said that in addition to responsibilities as Non Executive Director he had been asked to chair meetings of the board. The update to his role did not change ACOBA’s assessment of the risks under the government’s Business Appointment Rules. The conditions already imposed on this appointment remain appropriate.

The Rt Hon Mark Harper left his role as Government Chief Whip at the Cabinet office in July 2016, before rejoining government in October 2022. The Committee’s correspondence to the Rt Hon Mark Harper in relation to an appointment following his previous departure from government in 2016 is also listed on this page.

Published 19 July 2017

Last updated 30 September 2025 + show all updates

1. 30 September 2025

   Amendment to role with Reconnaissance Ventures Limited added.

2. 21 May 2025

   Appointment with Reconnaissance Ventures Limited added.

3. 19 July 2017

   First published.