To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any special advisers have left his Department since July 2024 for (a) misconduct and (b) breaches of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any special advisers have left his Department since July 2024 for (a) misconduct and (b) breaches of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, updated November 2024, whether a special adviser can (a) undertake can party political work on a UK Parliamentary by-election campaign and (b) be seconded to a political party.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, updated November 2024, whether a special adviser can (a) undertake can party political work on a UK Parliamentary by-election campaign and (b) be seconded to a political party.

Public resources cannot be used for party political campaigning at any time. At elections ministers will normally observe discretion over announcements or decisions that could influence voters.

Public resources cannot be used for party political campaigning at any time. At elections ministers will normally observe discretion over announcements or decisions that could influence voters.

The Ethics and Integrity Commission promotes high standards in UK public life by advising public authorities and reporting to the Prime Minister.

The Ethics and Integrity Commission promotes high standards in UK public life by advising public authorities and reporting to the Prime Minister.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any guidance has been issued to (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers on (i) ministerial and (ii) special adviser conduct during the Labour Party deputy leadership contest in addition to existing (A) ministerial and (B) special adviser codes.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any guidance has been issued to (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers on (i) ministerial and (ii) special adviser conduct during the Labour Party deputy leadership contest in addition to existing (A) ministerial and (B) special adviser codes.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether they will publish all individual decisions or recommendations relating to the application of the Business Appointment Rules by (1) the Civil Service Commission in respect of former civil servants and...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether they will publish all individual decisions or recommendations relating to the application of the Business Appointment Rules by (1) the Civil Service Commission in respect of former civil servants and...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether the new Business Appointment Rules administered by the Civil Service Commission will apply to all special advisers, including those below Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2, or only to those previously covered...

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HLWS867), whether the new Business Appointment Rules administered by the Civil Service Commission will apply to all special advisers, including those below Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2, or only to those previously covered...

My Honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP, has today made the following statement:

Ethics and integrity are at the heart of the Government’s approach to public service.

The Seven Principles of Public Life are fundamental to everything we do as we return Britain...

My Honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP, has today made the following statement:

Ethics and integrity are at the heart of the Government’s approach to public service.

The Seven Principles of Public Life are fundamental to everything we do as we return Britain...

Ethics and integrity are at the heart of the Government’s approach to public service.

The Seven Principles of Public Life are fundamental to everything we do as we return Britain to the service of working people.

The Government has already acted to drive up standards in government. The Prime Minister has published...

Ethics and integrity are at the heart of the Government’s approach to public service.

The Seven Principles of Public Life are fundamental to everything we do as we return Britain to the service of working people.

The Government has already acted to drive up standards in government. The Prime Minister has published...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14093 on Special Advisers: Code of Practice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Code of Conduct for special advisers to reflect changes to the Ministerial...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14093 on Special Advisers: Code of Practice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Code of Conduct for special advisers to reflect changes to the Ministerial...

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Butler of Brockwell, for bringing this important debate to the House. At a time when the integrity and professionalism of our civil servants is under scrutiny, particularly from certain factions within our political landscape, it is imperative we remind ourselves of the foundational principles...

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Butler of Brockwell, for bringing this important debate to the House. At a time when the integrity and professionalism of our civil servants is under scrutiny, particularly from certain factions within our political landscape, it is imperative we remind ourselves of the foundational principles...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response to this debate, and I thank everybody who has taken part.

I found it a very heartwarming debate, not least because of the complimentary remarks that have been made about me personally. I think of Adlai Stevenson, who was asked whether...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response to this debate, and I thank everybody who has taken part.

I found it a very heartwarming debate, not least because of the complimentary remarks that have been made about me personally. I think of Adlai Stevenson, who was asked whether...

My Lords, I am grateful to my Cross-Bench colleagues for giving me the opportunity of this debate. I am also grateful to those who have put down their names to speak. I just regret that they have so little time allocated to them when there is such a wide range...

My Lords, I am grateful to my Cross-Bench colleagues for giving me the opportunity of this debate. I am also grateful to those who have put down their names to speak. I just regret that they have so little time allocated to them when there is such a wide range...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Butler, on introducing what is a very important topic for debate. I hold him in the highest esteem. Indeed, when I first became a Minister in the Cabinet Office in 1997, I felt as if I ended up, in effect, working for...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Butler, on introducing what is a very important topic for debate. I hold him in the highest esteem. Indeed, when I first became a Minister in the Cabinet Office in 1997, I felt as if I ended up, in effect, working for...

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Mandelson, I too congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Butler, on securing this debate. We spend too little time in this House considering the really important issues around the Civil Service, which plays such an important role in the life of our nation.

I start...

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Mandelson, I too congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Butler, on securing this debate. We spend too little time in this House considering the really important issues around the Civil Service, which plays such an important role in the life of our nation.

I start...

My Lords, I join others in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Butler, in securing a debate on this subject. I thoroughly agree with the noble Lord, Lord Maude, that we do not discuss the Civil Service often enough in this place; it is really rather important.

As a former Permanent Secretary,...

My Lords, I join others in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Butler, in securing a debate on this subject. I thoroughly agree with the noble Lord, Lord Maude, that we do not discuss the Civil Service often enough in this place; it is really rather important.

As a former Permanent Secretary,...

My Lords, I draw attention to my entries in the register. Probably most relevant today is the eight years that I spent at No. 10, starting in 1997.

I am grateful to the noble Lord for introducing today’s debate. In all honesty, I think that a better topic would have been...

My Lords, I draw attention to my entries in the register. Probably most relevant today is the eight years that I spent at No. 10, starting in 1997.

I am grateful to the noble Lord for introducing today’s debate. In all honesty, I think that a better topic would have been...

My Lords, my congratulations go to the noble Lord, Lord Butler, on securing this important debate. I join him in affirming the constitutional importance of an impartial Civil Service, recruited on the basis of merit, whose job is to provide honest, objective and impartial advice delivered with integrity: advice that...

My Lords, my congratulations go to the noble Lord, Lord Butler, on securing this important debate. I join him in affirming the constitutional importance of an impartial Civil Service, recruited on the basis of merit, whose job is to provide honest, objective and impartial advice delivered with integrity: advice that...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Butler, for securing this debate and for a graphic description of some of the worrying trends that we are witnessing. I declare that I was the First Civil Service Commissioner from 2000 to 2005 and, more recently, along with the noble...

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Butler, for securing this debate and for a graphic description of some of the worrying trends that we are witnessing. I declare that I was the First Civil Service Commissioner from 2000 to 2005 and, more recently, along with the noble...

My Lords, we all remember senior civil servants openly in tears the morning after the Brexit vote, or the Civil Service union threatening to go on strike over the Rwanda scheme. Those are troubling examples of a politicised Civil Service, but I will focus on a more insidious trend that...

My Lords, we all remember senior civil servants openly in tears the morning after the Brexit vote, or the Civil Service union threatening to go on strike over the Rwanda scheme. Those are troubling examples of a politicised Civil Service, but I will focus on a more insidious trend that...