Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
5
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Propriety of Governance…
Rejected
Putting ACOBA on a statutory basis is not a prerequisite for the Rules to be legally enforced and should not delay it being put into operation. Nonetheless, to reflect the importance of its role and to clarify the status of it and the Rules, we recommend that ACOBA should be …
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Putting ACOBA on a statutory basis is not a prerequisite for the Rules to be legally enforced and should not delay it being put into operation. Nonetheless, to reflect the importance of its role and to clarify the status of it and the Rules, we recommend that ACOBA should be placed on a statutory basis as soon as possible.
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Government response AI summary
The Government does not believe that ACOBA should be established in primary legislation, but will allow this reform package to take effect before any further consideration of statutory change, in the next Parliament.
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6
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Propriety of Governance…
Rejected
The Government should implement the CSPL’s recommendation to extend the scope of the Business Appointment Rules to prohibit employment in sectors where the applicant has had “significant and direct” responsibility for policy, regulation or the award of contracts rather than only with firms they have had a relationship with. Such …
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The Government should implement the CSPL’s recommendation to extend the scope of the Business Appointment Rules to prohibit employment in sectors where the applicant has had “significant and direct” responsibility for policy, regulation or the award of contracts rather than only with firms they have had a relationship with. Such a measure should be applied to Ministers as well as SpAds and Officials at SCS3 and SCS4 grades. Moreover, the implications of this should be made more prominent to prospective hires prior to commencement.
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Government response AI summary
The Government does not believe that the Code, nor any other document, should set out directly indicative examples of sanctions that should apply to particular breaches, with the exception that resignation is expected for Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament.
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21
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Propriety of Governance…
Rejected
If the introduction of graduated sanctions to the Ministerial Code is to be effective, it cannot be used as a means to avoid significant sanction for serious breaches. The Government should outline the range of sanctions and indicative examples of breaches to which they might apply. Without this, the suspicion …
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If the introduction of graduated sanctions to the Ministerial Code is to be effective, it cannot be used as a means to avoid significant sanction for serious breaches. The Government should outline the range of sanctions and indicative examples of breaches to which they might apply. Without this, the suspicion is that the only determinant of the level of sanction will be political expediency. The reappointment of the Home Secretary sets a dangerous precedent. The leaking of restricted material is worthy of significant sanction under the new graduated sanctions regime introduced in May, including resignation and a significant period out of office. A subsequent change in Prime Minister should not wipe the slate clean and allow for a rehabilitation and a return to ministerial office in a shorter timeframe. To allow this to take place does not inspire confidence in the integrity of government nor offer much incentive to proper conduct in future.
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Government response AI summary
The government does not believe the Ministerial Code should set out directly indicative examples of sanctions that should apply to particular breaches, except that resignation is expected for Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament, as it's for the Prime Minister to determine sanctions on a case-by-case …
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23
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Propriety of Governance…
Rejected
The landscape of standards regulation is a patchwork, with individual watchdogs with different powers, legal basis, and appointments processes.168 Placing on a statutory basis those that are not already is an opportunity to regularise them to some extent. However, whilst all have responsibility for overseeing standards, 168 See CSPL Upholding …
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The landscape of standards regulation is a patchwork, with individual watchdogs with different powers, legal basis, and appointments processes.168 Placing on a statutory basis those that are not already is an opportunity to regularise them to some extent. However, whilst all have responsibility for overseeing standards, 168 See CSPL Upholding Standards in Public Life November 2021, p.43–44 for a table that illustrates this patchwork nature of standards regulation in the UK. 42 Propriety of Governance in Light of Greensill each has a distinct role and involves very different relationships.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that where standards bodies are committees that the Chair of the body chairs the Advisory Assessment Panel for the recruitment of their independent members, but does not believe that these appointments require an extra layer of independent oversight.
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