Yesterday the House of Lords saw the first reading of a crucial Private Members’ Bill* which would significantly improve ethics regulation in government.
The Public Service (Ethics, Integrity and Independence) Bill, introduced by Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE KC, contains a raft of measures to strengthen key standards watchdogs, including recommendations from independent expert bodies.
Restoring public trust in ethics regulation
The UK’s system for regulating standards in government is widely recognised as being unfit for purpose. This matters because when those in high office are not held to high standards, public trust in political institutions and our democracy is eroded.
After years of damaging scandals and a failure to repair the system, trust in politics is at a record low. This makes it harder for the government to deliver on its agenda with legitimacy and fosters cynicism and disengagement. The global onslaught against democratic norms risks fuelling that mistrust and further weakening our institutions.
The new government took office with commitments to restore “trust between the public and politics” and “a clean-up that ensures the highest standards of integrity and honesty.”
Whilst it has introduced some welcome measures to achieve that goal, the government has yet to commit to essential reforms that would leave a legacy for future governments to follow. Meanwhile, the details of some of its commitments, including a proposed Ethics and Integrity Commission to ensure probity in government, remain to be seen.
Fixing a broken system
As the weaknesses of our ethics watchdogs and rules grew increasingly apparent in recent years, independent expert bodies called for fundamental change.
In November 2021, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) published a report which concluded that “…the degree of independence in the regulation of the Ministerial Code, public appointments, business appointments, and appointments to the House of Lords falls below what is necessary to ensure effective regulation and maintain public credibility.”
CSPL identified that “Perhaps the most important element of a regulator’s independence is its statutory basis” and those which exist at the discretion of the government could be easily abolished. It recommended that three standards bodies should be put into legislation to “allow the powers and remits … to be strengthened and standardised, creating a clearer, simpler and more independent model of ethics regulation across government.”
In December 2022, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee published a report following the Greensill scandal. Like CSPL, the Committee identified a “strong case” for legislation for standards bodies, and that this should happen at the earliest opportunity.
The previous government eventually responded to those reports setting out its opposition to legislation for standards bodies. With no further commitment from the new government, important scrutiny bodies continue to exist at the discretion of the executive, with insufficient independence and powers to effectively regulate standards in high office.
What would the Bill do?
The Ethics, Integrity and Independence Bill builds on previous versions that were introduced by Lord Anderson in the House of Lords in 2022 and 2023. The Bill would go a long way towards upgrading the regulation of ethical standards in government, including by:
- Putting into legislation the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, Commissioner for Public Appointments, CSPL, House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) and an enhanced Commission on Business Appointments.
- Setting out these bodies’ responsibilities and powers, including the powers of the Independent Adviser and Commissioner for Public Appointments to compel people to provide information.
- Placing the codes they oversee into legislation and requiring the government to consult the bodies when revising some of those codes.
- Establishing more robust appointment processes that would make the bodies more independent from government.
- Giving the Commission on Business Appointments much-needed powers to impose penalties where individuals who take up roles after public office fail to comply with its requirements.
- Ensuring that the Prime Minister cannot disregard HOLAC if it advises against an appointment to the House of Lords.
The Bill would create a more effective model of ethics regulation for this and future governments, promote and protect high standards, and increase the visibility, independence and powers of standards bodies.
After a faltering start, this government needs to show that it is serious about restoring public trust in politics. Serious steps to bolster the regulation of standards in public life are long overdue. Here is a ready-made Bill to do just that. The government should seize this opportunity and throw their weight behind this well-considered and crucial piece of legislation.
* Private Members’ Bills, or backbench bills, are public bills introduced by MPs or members of the House of Lords, rather than by the government.
