Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether the new Business Appointment Rules administered by the Civil Service Commission will apply to all special advisers, including those below Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2, or only to those previously covered by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Special Adviser Code of Conduct sets out that Special Advisers are subject to the Business Appointment Rules for civil servants. Special advisers that currently submit applications to ACOBA will, following the transfer of functions, submit applications to the Civil Service Commission. All other Special Advisers will follow their usual process as set out in the Business Appointment Rules guidance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), what legal mechanism will be used to require a minister to repay severance payments following a breach of the Business Appointment Rules.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Ministerial Code is clear that the Business Appointment Rules apply to former ministers after they leave office.

Ministers will also be expected to sign waivers to confirm that they will repay their severance payment in the event they are found to have seriously breached the Business Appointment Rules.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether the Prime Minister has issued, or intends to issue, a direction or agreement under section 17 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 to give the Civil Service Commission new statutory functions relating to the Business Appointment Rules.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Rt. Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and His Majesty’s Paymaster General, on behalf of the Prime Minister, exchanged letters with Baroness Stuart, the First Civil Service Commissioner, in July 2025 to confirm the Commission’s agreement to accept new functions under section 17 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. This correspondence can be found here: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/first-civil-service-commissioner-responds-to-the-minister-for-the-cabinet-office-on-proposed-changes-to-the-role-of-the-civil-service-commission/

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether they intend to retain political members nominated by opposition parties on the Committee on Standards in Public Life, as under current arrangements.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Yes. This is laid out in correspondence between the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/correspondence-between-the-minister-for-the- cabinet-office-and-the-chair-cspl-on-the-ethics-and-integrity-commission

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether appointments to the new Ethics and Integrity Commission will be made under a Public Appointments Order in Council; and which Minister will be responsible for approving those appointments.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Independent appointments to the Commission will be subject to the Public Appointments Order in Council. Cabinet Office Ministers will be responsible for the appointment of members to the Commission.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether the Civil Service management code or Civil Service code will be amended to reflect the transfer of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments’ functions to the Civil Service Commission.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Civil Service Management Code will be updated in due course to reflect the transfer of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments' functions to the Civil Service Commission.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the Civil Service committees or individuals that exercise management functions in relation to the Civil Service, including the membership of each committee; and what changes, if any, have been made to the Civil Service Governance Framework since the publication of Independent Review of Governance and Accountability in the Civil Service: The Rt Hon Lord Maude of Horsham on 13 November 2023.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Civil Service governance structures and fora were reorganised in January 2025.

Current Civil Service committees that exercise management functions in relation to the Civil Service are:

• Heads of Department
• People Board
• Operations Board
• Senior Leadership Committee

There have been a number of changes to the composition of these Civil Service boards and committees (for example due to the appointment of new permanent secretaries). Once these changes are complete the details of the new arrangements and membership will be published on Gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether they will publish all individual decisions or recommendations relating to the application of the Business Appointment Rules by (1) the Civil Service Commission in respect of former civil servants and special advisers, and (2) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards in respect of former ministers; and if not, what criteria will govern decisions on publication.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Business Appointment Rules set out the expectations on publication which will continue to apply once the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments’ functions are transferred to the Civil Service Commission and Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether former ministers who left office while the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments was operating will now receive retrospective advice in relation to business appointments from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments will continue to process and provide advice on applications it receives from former ministers until its closure. Advice on applications after the Committee closes will be provided by the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether they will publish the audit findings by the Civil Service Commission on the application of Business Appointment Rules below senior levels; and what redress will be available to applicants in the event that a department is found to have applied the rules inconsistently.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government's policy is set out in the Written Ministerial Statement. Further details will be shared with Parliament in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), what the line management structure will be of (1) the Ethics and Integrity Commission, and (2) the secretariat supporting the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards; and whether those staff will report to a named senior civil servant in the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Line management for the secretariat of the Committee on Standards in Public Life - which will be established as the Ethics and Integrity Commission - and for the Independent Adviser Secretariat sits in the Propriety and Constitution Group of the Cabinet Office. There are no current plans to alter these arrangements.

The EIC, as with CSPL, will remain an independent Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body of the Cabinet Office, led by its Chair and other officeholders. The Independent Adviser remains an independent office-holder, as set out in the role's existing terms of reference.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the secretariat supporting (1) the Ethics and Integrity Commission, and (2) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, will be (a) independent of the Propriety and Constitution Group, and (b) under the line management of the Director General of the Propriety and Constitution Group.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Line management for the secretariat of the Committee on Standards in Public Life - which will be established as the Ethics and Integrity Commission - and for the Independent Adviser Secretariat sits in the Propriety and Constitution Group of the Cabinet Office. There are no current plans to alter these arrangements.

The EIC, as with CSPL, will remain an independent Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body of the Cabinet Office, led by its Chair and other officeholders. The Independent Adviser remains an independent office-holder, as set out in the role's existing terms of reference.

Found: Letter dated 01/09/2025 from Baroness Anderson of Stoke on Trent to Baroness Finn and the Earl Russell