Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Ethics and Integrity Commission’s Implementation Plan, whether the Commission’s staff will be employed independently of his Department; what budget has been allocated to the Commission for each of the next three financial years; and how many full time equivalent staff the Commission will employ during that period.

The Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) is an advisory Non-departmental Body of the Cabinet Office. As such it is not a separate legal entity from the Cabinet Office and the staff employed within it are Cabinet Office civil servants and there are no plans to change this. However, the EIC is operationally independent from the Cabinet Office and is led by an independent Chair and a majority independent Committee of members to safeguard its independence and advice to the Prime Minister.

The indicative budget for the EIC for the 2026/27 financial year is £1m and it is expected to have approximately 18 FTE staff in this period. The budget and staffing allocation for future years is expected to grow and will be determined at a later date in response to the EIC’s remit and requirements. Further details will be published in the EIC's Annual Report in the usual way.