Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements they propose to prevent duplication between public authorities, professional regulators, ombudsmen, inspectorates, and law-enforcement bodies in investigating and enforcing substantially the same ethical duties.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that Codes of Ethical Conduct operate effectively alongside existing ethical codes made and published by regulators, ombudsmen, inspectorates and law-enforcement bodies. Statutory guidance will be published to support public authorities to comply with the duties in clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what data public authorities will be required to publish concerning complaints under their codes of ethical conduct, including the number received, investigated, upheld and referred to another body, the time taken, the remedies provided, and the sanctions imposed.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Public authorities will be required to adopt and publish a Code of Ethical Conduct that includes information on how people who do not work for the public authority may make complaints. Public authorities may wish to publish additional relevant information alongside their Code of Ethical Conduct

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the statutory guidance to be issued under clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will include a common core template; which elements of that template public authorities will be permitted to omit or modify; and how they will monitor consistency in its implementation.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Public authorities will be required to adopt and publish Codes of Ethical Conduct. These can be tailored to meet the requirements of their workforces and sectors.

The Bill sets out the minimum requirements that public authorities must meet for their Code to be compliant. Statutory guidance will be published to support them.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a single statutory minimum code of ethical conduct applicable to all public authorities, which individual authorities could supplement but not dilute, rather than requiring each authority to formulate its own minimum standards.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill requires public authorities to have and publish Codes of Ethical Conduct. Each code should explain how those working for the authority can demonstrate candour in the context of their particular organisation, its functions, and the individual’s specific role.

The Bill sets out the minimum requirements that public authorities must meet for their Code to be compliant.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what work the Ethics and Integrity Commission and the Cabinet Office duty of candour team have undertaken on the proposed statutory guidance and common framework for codes of ethical conduct; when that work began; what public authorities and existing codes have been examined; and when the resulting material will be published.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

In October 2025, the Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) was commissioned to report on how public bodies can develop, distribute and enforce Codes of Conduct so that they effect meaningful cultural change, ensuring that public officials act with honesty, integrity and candour at all times.

When published, the EIC will act as a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for public sector Codes of Conduct and provide guidance and best practice to public bodies. As an independent body, the EIC is responsible for setting the scope and direction of its work.

Statutory guidance will be published to support public authorities to comply with the duties in clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to consult Andrew Devine’s family on the content, enforcement, and consistency of the codes of ethical conduct required by the Public Office (Accountability) Bill before publishing statutory guidance or tabling any Government amendments.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I have recently met members of the Devine family with the noble Lord to discuss these proposals and am grateful to them for their time.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how members of the public will be able to (1) identify the applicable code, (2) make a complaint, (3) obtain independent investigation of a serious or systemic breach, and (4) secure a remedy where an authority’s internal employment or disciplinary procedure is unavailable or inappropriate.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill requires public authorities to publish a Code of Ethical Conduct that includes information on how people who do not work for the public authority may make a complaint.

The method of investigation and possible outcomes will depend on the circumstances and the public authority concerned.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how breaches of codes established under clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will be investigated and enforced where the public official concerned has resigned, retired, or transferred to another authority before the complaint or investigation is concluded.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Bill sets out the minimum requirements that public authorities must meet for their Code of Ethical Conduct to be compliant. Public authorities are responsible for the disciplinary consequences for people who work for the authority failing to act in accordance with the standards of conduct expected of them.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk that separate codes under clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will create different standards, complaint routes, investigative arrangements, and sanctions for materially similar conduct in different public authorities.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Public authorities will be required to adopt and publish Codes of Ethical Conduct. These can be tailored to meet the requirements of their workforces and sectors.

The Bill sets out the minimum requirements that public authorities must meet for their Code to be compliant. Statutory guidance will be published to support them.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have that minimum standards of candour, honesty, integrity, accountability, openness, and transparency should differ between public authorities, rather than being set out in a single national minimum standard which individual authorities may supplement.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Under the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, public authorities will be required to adopt and publish Codes of Ethical Conduct. These can be tailored to meet the requirements of their workforces and sectors. The Bill sets out the minimum requirements that public authorities must meet for their Code to be compliant.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many separate codes of conduct they expect clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill to produce; and what work will be involved collectively in preparing, approving, maintaining, and administering these codes of conduct.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

All core public authorities will be required to adopt and publish a Code of Ethical Conduct. This includes all central government departments, National Health Services bodies, local authorities, police forces and state schools. Approximately six million public sector workers across the public sector are within scope of this requirement. Public authorities will be responsible for promoting and maintaining their Codes of Ethical Conduct. Statutory guidance will be published to support public authorities to comply with the duties in clause 10 of the Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have compared the one-off and recurring cost of requiring separate codes of conduct under the terms of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill and the associated systems across all public authorities with the cost of one single national core code of conduct; and if not, whether they intend to do so and publish the figures.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Most public bodies will already be covered by a form of a Code of Ethical Conduct. The Bill provides public authorities the flexibility to tailor a code to best meet the needs of their organisation and sector. The cost impact for the majority of public authorities is not anticipated to be substantial. An impact assessment will be undertaken post Royal Assent alongside wider implementation plans.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was responsible for applying for the creation of a medical dictionary for regulatory activities code for post-SSRI sexual dysfunction in 2021.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No, but the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency did have discussions on the underlying data in this area with officials responsible for the medical dictionary for regulatory activities, which resulted in them adding the lower level term “post-SSRI sexual dysfunction” to the regulatory dictionary under sexual dysfunction.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish an update on the new structure of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office following the summer 2026 reorganisation.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) publishes organograms on staff roles and salaries every quarter on gov.uk. The data for June is available here: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Organograms of staff roles and salaries - National Data Library (https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/73e0260a-0516-44ff-b4eb-ba9fec420c45/organograms-of-staff-roles-and-salaries)

The FCDO will publish the September organogram at the end of November.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report from the former officials of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that they have evidence of use of chemical weapons in the war in Sudan; and whether they intend to raise this in the UN Security Council.

Answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are aware of recent media reporting of alleged chemical weapons use in Sudan and are reviewing the allegations carefully. The UK takes any alleged breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention very seriously. Sudan is a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention and we expect all those in Sudan to abide by the prohibition on developing, producing, possessing, transferring or using chemical weapons. We have consistently raised serious concerns about allegations of chemical weapon use in Sudan, including at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and will continue to do so. Officials have also raised this specific report with representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and urged Sudan to conclude its investigation into the allegations and report back to the OPCW.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Article 216(3) of the Turkish Penal Code is being used to restrict the freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief of humanists, atheists and other non-religious people; what representations they have made to the Government of Türkiye on this issue; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the right to freedom of religion or belief, including the right to hold no religious belief, is upheld in Türkiye.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Freedom of religion or belief is a priority for this Government. The right to freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in the Turkish constitution. We continue to urge Turkey to respect religious freedoms, including the right to hold no religious belief, which are essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy.

Found: Wednesday 20 May Members present Lord Alton of Liverpool, in the Chair  Baroness Chakrabarti  Tom