Personal statement by William Roe
10 June, 2009
“When I was appointed Chair of HIE, I agreed with the Chief Executive of HIE and the Managing Director of Rocket Science UK Ltd, that we should immediately put in place a protocol to manage potential conflicts of interest that would arise if HIE and Rocket Science were to continue to have contractual business relationships. Both parties agreed that such a protocol should be established, the effect of which would be that I, as Chair of both bodies, would be completely excluded from any and all aspects of the business relationship between the parties. The protocol was established and has been in existence ever since.
The principles on which the protocol was established were as follows:
1 Rocket Science should be neither advantaged nor disadvantaged in its potential business relationship with HIE as a result of my appointment to the Chair of HIE and my role as non-executive Chair of Rocket Science UK Ltd;
2 The Chair should be totally excluded by both bodies from any and all aspects of the business relationship between the two bodies. This should include informal dialogue about potential business, invitations to tender being issued, tenders being prepared, contracts being conducted, the submission of reports of contracts undertaken, and any work being commissioned on a non-competitive basis;
3 The Chair should record on a regular basis in the HIE Register of Interests information about each contract that had been undertaken by Rocket Science for HIE. This information typically includes the title of the contract, the value of the work, and the period in which it was undertaken;
4 Information about all contracts awarded to Rocket Science by HIE should be included in the HIE Annual Report to ensure total public transparency.
When the review of Rocket Science contracts was initiated by HIE, I looked afresh at the respective roles I play in both HIE and Rocket Science. For more than 4 years now, I have been totally excluded by both parties from any aspect of the business relationship between them. As a result of the protocol that was established, no conflicts of interest have arisen during that time.
However, I also asked myself if there could be an even higher standard of separation of functions that would prevent any possible perception of a conflict of interest arising in the future. As a result, I decided on 21 May that, irrespective of the outcome of the HIE Review, I would completely separate my public service functions from my private business interests. Accordingly I will be stepping down as Chair and Director of Rocket Science and selling my shares in the company from 30 June. I informed the HIE Chief Executive and the Scottish Government of my decision on 2 June and my Rocket Science colleagues on 4 June.
