Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, if he will open an inquiry into historical charges of bullying in the House of Commons; and if he will make a statement.

This Government has made clear that there is no place for bullying, harassment, or sexual harassment in Parliament and by working cross party, we will ensure everyone working in Parliament is treated with dignity and respect. An independent inquiry into bullying and harassment of House of Commons staff was carried out by Dame Laura Cox and her report was published in 2018. Following on from this, Gemma White QC carried out an independent inquiry on bullying and harassment of past and present staff of Members of Parliament, as well as Members themselves, and her report was published in 2019. A key recommendation of both reports was that the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme should be amended, so as to ensure that those employees with complaints involving historical allegations can access the Scheme. As a result, in July 2019, the House of Commons approved the steps to make the necessary changes to extend the scheme to include historical allegations and that came into effect on 21 October 2019. An 18-month review of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme is due in June 2020.