Today’s announcement of a new Ethics and Integrity Commission must be the first step in a more ambitious upgrade of standards regulation that independent experts have long called for. Without further steps it risks failing to meet strong public demand for truly independent regulation of politicians’ behaviour.
The current proposals for the Commission are based on more of the same ‘good chaps’ approach to regulating ethics in government, which are not enough to future-proof UK politics against rogue and unscrupulous actors – or against a future government with scant regard for ethical standards.
Standards regulation – including standards regulators and the new Commission itself – must be put on a more robust legislative footing to ensure that there are statutory checks and balances to protect good governance in the UK.
The Commission should also more clearly meet key principles we laid out in 2022 that are essential for public confidence, including that it should report directly to Parliament, be adequately resourced, have statutory footing and that its members are appointed in a truly independent way. There should be further public consultation about what the final terms of reference for the Commission are and how it should operate.
The proposals for changing the revolving door rules meanwhile should also be subject to further consultation. As they stand there are real risks that the proposal to abolish rather than boost the existing revolving door regulator (ACOBA) risks fragmenting regulation, reducing transparency and creating a two-tier system – one in which civil servants are regulated by a statutory body, while ministers are regulated by a non-statutory advisor.
The proposed penalty – which will amount to around £8,000 for junior ministers and £17,000 for Cabinet ministers – for serious breaches is peanuts compared to the lucrative salaries they might earn in the private sector after leaving office.
There is nothing in the proposals meanwhile that addresses how regulation of the revolving door will be resourced. ACOBA currently has nine members of staff – and 370 cases a year – and was already overstretched. This expertise must be retained and bolstered and a clear plan for resourcing the UK’s standards landscape developed.
We urge the Committee on Standards in Public Life to review and robustly assess over the summer whether the current government’s proposals on standards regulation to date properly implement the recommendations it made in its 2021 report on upgrading the UK’s standards framework.
Robust and independent ethics regulation is critical not just for rebuilding public trust but also for ensuring government works efficiently and fairly. The success of a new Ethics Commission will ultimately be judged by whether it manages to ensure this happens for everyone in government, right up to the very top.
