Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
4th Report - Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
HC 1036
Published 9 January 2026
Government response
1st Special Report - Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code: Government Response · published 4 Jun 2026
Recommendations & Conclusions
17
Conclusion
Deferred
Publication process for major policy documents consistently breaches Ministerial Code principles
Conclusion
It is our assessment that in none of these examples can we be satisfied that the general principle has been met by the publication of relevant documents associated with major policy announcements. It is not clear how Members of the …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of timely publication but raises issues with current procedural requirements for written ministerial statements, inviting the Procedure Committee to review whether notice arrangements are optimal.
18
Recommendation
Deferred
Ensure timely, transparent publication of documents, followed by oral statements for parliamentary scrutiny
Recommendation
In the examples cited, we do not agree that the publication of associated documents ahead of statements met the expectations of the general principle of the Code. However, subject to the Government making proper attempts to be open and transparent …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the recognition of timely document publication but does not commit to a follow-up oral statement. Instead, it defers to the House and Procedure Committee to explore whether current notice requirements for written ministerial statements can be made more flexible.
23
Conclusion
Deferred
Written ministerial statements significantly enhance transparency and government openness to Parliament
Conclusion
The introduction of written ministerial statements in 2002 has proved to be a considerable success in increasing transparency and making government more open to Parliament and the public. It is for the Government to make a judgement about the correct …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the recognition of written ministerial statements but notes procedural challenges. They will seek views from the House and the Procedure Committee on whether current notice requirements remain optimal for timely information release.