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.

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.