Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to require ministers to resign if they are found to have made an minor breach of the ministerial code.

The Ministerial Code is clear that graduated sanctions are in place for breaches of the Code; this is set out in paragraph 1.7. This has formally been part of the Code since May 2022 when the Code was amended, but this approach has just reflected actual practice from previous Administrations under successive Prime Ministers.

That formal amendment to the Code followed recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 2021. The Chair of the Committee noted: “The current expectation that any breach of the Ministerial Code should lead to resignation is disproportionate. We recommend that there should be a proportionate range of sanctions” (Lord Evans correspondence to the Prime Minister, 15 April 2021).

The (then) Prime Minister agreed with this recommendation in his reply of 28 April 2021, explaining: “I agree with your recommendation... this has always been the case, but over time, an expectation has arisen that any breach should lead automatically to resignation, which I agree is disproportionate.”

The (then) Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests, Lord Geidt, also concurred in his Annual Report of May 2021, noting: "I believe its [the Code’s] status is likely to be enhanced by a more proportionate approach to sanctions”.

The Committee repeated this recommendation in their ‘Standards Matter 2’ final report published in September 2021.

I would also observe that both Houses of Parliament takes a similar approach to breaches of the Code of Conduct by Parliamentarians, as do employers in their HR processes across the public and private sector.