Oil and energy firm staff employed by the Government Likewise, seconding Decc staff into industry - be that oil, gas, renewables or other areas - provides insight into the challenges faced by those sectors. Decc ensures that any secondee is bound by the professional Codes of Practice relevant to their industry or services provided. It is normal for secondees to be paid directly by Decc or for their company to be refunded for their time spent working in Decc; this is standard practice across Government. There are contractual measures in place to make sure that any employee seconded into Decc is not placed in a position where there could be a conflict of interest. However, Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, who made some of the FOI requests, criticised the arrangements. "Fossil fuel giants should have no place at the heart of government given that their current investment strategies run contrary to the need to build a low-carbon future that delivers both security and prosperity," she said. It's even more outrageous that taxpayers are footing the bill for some of these secondments, including from British Gas-owner Centrica, at a time when British Gas customers are struggling in the face of a 6% rise in their energy bills, and the company is expected to make £1.4bn profits after tax this year. The documents showed 23 workers at Decc were from outside the department, including from Centrica, Barclays, ESB (Ireland's biggest energy firm), National Grid and Rolls-Royce. Staff from Shell and npower's owner, RWE, are seconded to Decc for free, the Guardian reported.