The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Sally Jameson)
I welcome this Backbench Business debate on the seven principles of public life or, as they are also known, the Nolan principles. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) for opening the debate and raising some important examples from her constituency, which will have been heard by many people. As she will know, councillors can be referred to the Standards Commission for Scotland, and I hope that that will be done, but her speech has highlighted some important points, particularly in respect of transparency in Holyrood.
A year ago today, my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven (Chris Ward) stood at this Dispatch Box to respond to an Adjournment debate on this very issue. Of course, the principles remain the same as they were on that evening—openness, accountability, objectivity, honesty, leadership, integrity and selflessness—but right hon. and hon. Members will be aware that we now stand on the brink of significant change on the matter of standards across the full spectrum of public life. The House knows that the principles are the foundation of standards in public life—something we all aspire to and that unites us across the Floor of this House and the other place. They sit behind the codes of conduct that are imposed for Ministers, special advisers, civil servants and others in public life, and the House knows all too well that public trust can be eroded when those standards are ignored and forgotten.
I will not seek to rehearse the arguments made by my hon. Friend last year, but I do wish to talk about the progress we have made in that time and address some of the points raised by hon. Members across the House. I am delighted to say that the Ethics and Integrity Commission, which sits at the heart of our standards system, has now been operational for 13 months. It has produced its first report into lobbying, the business appointment rules and disclosure in July. The chair of the commission has also reported to the Prime Minister as part of his annual responsibilities, setting out the state of the standards landscape across the public sector. The Prime Minister will respond to that shortly, and I am sure the House will be updated then.
The commission is currently looking into public sector codes of conduct in preparation for the commencement of the duty of candour as part of what is widely known as the Hillsborough law. We are immensely grateful to the commission for its work to drive up ethical standards in a busy year, and we look forward to seeing the progress over the years ahead.
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, or Hillsborough law, is approaching its remaining stages in the House of Lords, having already passed in the Commons back in July. The Government are working closely with Members in the other place who are rigorously examining that legislation as we head towards Report. The Ministry of Justice is leading on this legislation, but the Cabinet Office owns the duty of candour provisions, which are significant and form a considerable part of the Bill.
Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
On the Hillsborough Bill, have the Government reconsidered their decision not to include more than first-tier contractors, and therefore not to include subcontractors or subcontractors of subcontractors? It is evident that we must have truth telling right the way down the system when so many services are contracted out—this has to change.
Sally Jameson
I take the hon. Member’s point and will come back to her on that. As I say, the Bill is mainly with the Ministry of Justice, but I will ensure that she gets a response. I will not take any more interventions, given the time we have left.
On the points raised by hon. Members on the independent adviser, the role advising the Prime Minister on the ministerial code has existed for 20 years. He is not an independent regulator, and the Government are not minded to change that in legislation. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) for his work on anti-corruption as chair of the APPG. I know that he recently met my noble Friend Baroness Twycross to discuss a number of issues, some of which he has raised today.
The Government are working with Parliament to restore a politics of service consistent with the high standards expected of public office holders. The Modernisation Committee is exploring ways to drive up standards that also address matters of culture and procedure in the House of Commons, and the Government believe that the primary job of MPs is to represent their constituents. The Government fully support the inquiry being undertaken by the Committee on Standards to consider further changes to the rules on second jobs so that there are very limited exceptions, such as for MPs who need to do a minimum number of hours to maintain existing professional qualifications. I am sure that a number of the points raised in the House about this issue will have been heard.
I take the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Dr Rushworth) on mayoral accountability. As he knows, I am working closely on this as part of the rewiring the state delivery plan, and I hope to be able to update him and others on that very soon. I also take the points raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) on how accountable government needs to be weaved throughout the rewiring the state programme across all tiers of Government as we progress through the devolution agenda.
The EIC published its report on 9 July, having reviewed the current arrangements relating to financial disclosures for Ministers and senior officials; transparency around lobbying, including the Government’s publication of monthly and quarterly integrity data; and the business appointment rules. I thank the commission and its chair, Douglas Chalmers, for its thorough and considered work on these important matters. The Government are carefully considering the report’s findings and will present their response to Parliament in the not-too-distant future.
Let me turn to some of the points raised by the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst). For legal reasons, I cannot discuss debarment, but he will be aware of what the legislation says and the powers that the Government now have in relation to that. I share his concern and annoyance at the performance of Capita in the civil service pension scheme, and we continue to work night and day to ensure that that is resolved.
In relation to standards in local government, the Localism Act 2011 requires every local authority in England to adopt a code of conduct that conforms to the Nolan principles. The Government are committed to whole-system reform of the local government standards framework to make it stronger and more effective, and we will legislate on that when parliamentary time allows.
I am aware that I have not covered all the points raised in the debate, but I have prevented myself from responding to some of the ludicrous claims from the Opposition. I want to express my full support for my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Heeley (Louise Haigh), who is doing an incredible job as our First Secretary of State and is a trailblazer for women in politics across the country.
Madam Deputy Speaker, as you and the rest of the House will know, this Government take standards in public life incredibly seriously. I welcome this debate and all the views expressed on the Nolan principles, which have been heard by the Government, and I look forward to further conversations as the Government report back on many of the issues raised today.