Honours forfeiture for CSA convictions

The Honours and Appointments Secretariat in the Cabinet Office coordinates the operation of the honours system and supports the Forfeiture Committee and the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee). The HD Committee is the policy forum for the honours system. It gives advice about possible changes to the honours system and military medals policy. This includes responsibility for policy on forfeiture of honours. Its members are senior officials in the Civil Service and the Royal Household. An honour can be revoked if it is determined that an individual has behaved in a way that brings the honours system into disrepute. Specific examples of disrepute include being convicted of a criminal offence, sanctioned by a regulator, or stuck off by a professional body, but any action or inaction can be considered. Recommendations to forfeit are made by the Forfeiture Committee to the Prime Minister, and then to The Queen for approval. The Forfeiture Committee has a majority of independent members and is chaired by a Permanent Secretary, on delegated authority from the Head of the Civil Service. The Committee is not an investigatory body – it does not decide whether or not someone is guilty or innocent of a particular act. Instead, it reflects the findings of official investigations and makes a recommendation of whether or not the honours system has been brought into disrepute. The Committee is also not a policy-making body. Most of the structure and responsibility for the operation of the honours system is therefore independent of the government of the day. Changes to policy on forfeiture are made on advice from the HD Committee, which may in turn be advised by a range of sources including the Forfeiture Committee. The HD Committee is taking forward an in-depth review of forfeiture policy in this area, in response to the recommendations made by the Inquiry. We will continue to keep the Inquiry informed of progress in this area.

Examples include if an individual:
has been found guilty by the courts of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than three months
has been censured or struck off by the relevant regulatory authority or professional body, for actions or failures to act, especially which are directly relevant to the granting of the honour
has been found guilty by the courts of a criminal offence covered by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (England and Wales), Sexual Offences Order 2008 (Northern Ireland) or Sexual Offences Act 2009 (Scotland);
has been found to have committed a sexual act which is listed in the Acts above following a ‘trial of the facts’.