Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team provided the Prime Minister with a substantive report on Labour Together and the conduct of the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital ID before the Prime Minister referred the matter to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given in UIN 3796 tabled in the House of Commons, copied below for ease:

“The Prime Minister asked civil servants in the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics team to establish the facts in relation to allegations concerning the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State jointly in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Cabinet Office.

As has been the case under successive administrations, this process is confidential. Once the facts had been established, the Prime Minister then requested advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. The Independent Adviser’s subsequent advice to the Prime Minister is published on gov.uk.

As is set out in the Independent Adviser’s terms of reference, “Information provided to the Independent Adviser for the purposes of their functions is provided in confidence” (paragraph 4.2).”