Ex-Education Secretary Takes £50k Job with Education Firm

Ex-education secretary Gavin Williamson has taken a £50,000-a-year second job as an adviser to a firm that runs private schools, university courses and education investments.

 

According to Companies House, RTC’s chair is Maurizio Bragagni, who has donated significant sums of money to the Conservative Party.

 

As an advisory board member, Mr Williamson will be expected to guide RTC Education Ltd’s strategy and operations. He will also be tasked with helping to attract new investment and business opportunities to the company.

 

Even though, as education secretary, Mr Williamson was responsible for overseeing Britain’s education system – including state schools, which are struggling with budget cuts and teacher shortages.

 

Labour MP Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said: “This is a disgraceful example of the revolving door between this Tory government and their friends in the private sector.”

“Gavin Williamson should be ashamed of himself for cashing in on his position like this,” she added.

A spokesman for Mr Williamson said: “This is a private matter.”

 

In addition, according to Companies House, RTC’s annual report for the year ending December 2018 shows it had almost £9 million in cash and investments.

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It is unclear what Mr Williamson’s exact duties will entail or how many days a week he will be required to work, but the role is part-time, and he will only be expected to commit around 80 hours per year.

 

This news comes shortly after revealing that another former Tory minister, Damian Hinds, has taken up a new role as an education consultant with a major US private equity firm.

The article criticises Williamson’s recent job change to RTC Education through his perspective and position. The paper argues that because he is now a part of a company that deals with private schools, university courses, and education investments, it creates a conflict of interest as he is currently profiting off of an industry he was once overseeing. Furthermore, the article claims this job could be seen as cashing in on his previous political position.

Labour MP Angela Rayner is quoted in the article stating her disapproval of Williamson’s new job and how it sets a bad example. In conclusion, the paper questions the judgement of Williamson and Damian Hinds, another former Tory minister. They recently took a new role as an education consultant with a major US private equity firm.

The new role for Williamson is part-time and only requires him to work around 80 hours per year, according to the article. It is not clear what his exact duties will entail. Still, he is expected to guide RTC Education Ltd’s strategy and operations and help attract new investment and business opportunities to the company.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) approved the move but suggested that Williamson may have been party to sensitive information while secretary of state that could be relevant to RTC Education. However, they concluded, “this risk is limited given eight months have passed since you left office and the DfE considered the information you had access to would no longer be sufficiently up to date to be useful to the organisation”.

The end of RTC’s annual report for the year ending December 2018 showed that the company had almost £9 million in cash and investments. It is not yet known how much Williamson will be paid for his role as an advisory board member, but it is speculated that he will be earning a large sum of money.

The article argues that Williamson’s new job could be seen as cashing in on his previous political position and setting a bad example. It is not clear what his exact duties will entail. Still, he is expected to guide RTC Education Ltd’s strategy and operations and help attract new investment and business opportunities to the company.

 

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