Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether people who join the Senior Civil Service are required or recommended to attend workshops run by the Parliamentary Capability Team; and, if attendance is recommended, what proportion of those joining the Senior Civil Service have attended those workshops since 1 September 2024.

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

The Parliamentary Capability Team runs an ongoing programme of training and events for all Civil Servants. Senior Civil Servants are encouraged to attend these, but it is not mandatory. Between 1 September 2024 and 5 November 2025, a total of 275 Senior Civil Servants have attended events arranged by the Parliamentary Capability Team. Data is not held on when those attendees started working at Senior Civil Servant level.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement the recommendation of the House of Commons Select Committee on Standards, in paragraph 242 of its Third Report of Session 2023–24 (HC247) that the Recall of MPs Act 2015 be subject to post-legislative scrutiny.

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

As stated in the Government's response to the report of the House of Commons Committee on Standards (HC637), the Government believes that the Recall of MPs Act 2015 is broadly operating as intended. Where there are procedural challenges, the standards system has evolved to accommodate these.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 20 November (HL11754), what study was undertaken to reach the conclusion in their response (HC637) to the report of the House of Commons Committee on Standards on the operation of the Recall of MPs Act 2015; and which of the criteria adumbrated in paragraph 40.1 and 40.2 of the "Guide to Making Legislation" apply in the decision not to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of the Act.

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

The Government's January 2025 response to the House of Commons Committee on Standards' recommendation regarding the Recall of MPs Act 2015 was based on the operation of the Act and the six recall petitions that have taken place since the Act came into force.

These recall petitions have collectively engaged all three recall conditions, and one did not attain the 10% threshold required to recall the MP in question. Given the variety of circumstances in which the recall process has been engaged, and given the variety of outcomes, the Government believes that the 2015 Act has been tested sufficiently and proven an effective and proportionate tool in the parliamentary standards regime.

The Cabinet Office Guide to Making Legislation is clear that post-legislative scrutiny of legislation can take the form of discussion with the relevant parliamentary committee. The Government remains open to dialogue with Parliament, including the House of Commons Committee on Standards and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, about the ongoing operation of the Recall Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which Acts of Parliament are scheduled for post-legislative review in 2026.

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

This information is not held centrally. The Cabinet Office has written to departments reminding them of the importance of post-legislative scrutiny.

All bills that have reached Royal Assent are eligible for post-legislative scrutiny three to five years after they are enacted. However, it can be agreed between the Government Department and the relevant Commons Departmental Select Committee that a memorandum is not required.

Found: Committee considered the letter from the former Chair of the Statutory Inquiries Committee, Lord Norton of Louth