Special Adviser Appointments Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Special Adviser Appointments

Lord Campbell-Savours Excerpts
Wednesday 2nd October 2019

(5 years, 1 month ago)

Lords Chamber
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Earl Howe Portrait Earl Howe
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My Lords, the 2010 Act, to which I referred, says that all appointments of special advisers must be approved by the Prime Minister and that the Prime Minister may terminate the contract by withdrawing his consent at any time. That is also made clear in the Ministerial Code.

Lord Campbell-Savours Portrait Lord Campbell-Savours (Lab)
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My Lords, paragraph 11 of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers states:

“Any special adviser found to be disseminating inappropriate material will be subject to a disciplinary process”.


Can I ask the Minister about the process? What is the process that should have been applied, or that should be applied in these cases more generally?

Earl Howe Portrait Earl Howe
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My Lords, the terms of employment for any special adviser, as I have said, are set in their model contract. They are bound by the Code of Conduct. The process will depend on the terms of that contract. Dominic Cummings is ultimately accountable to the Prime Minister for his conduct, as is the case for all special advisers.