Keir Starmer’s reforms to the ministerial code do not go far enough towards an “truly independent” standards regime to hold top politicians to account, the head of the senior civil servants union has said.
Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, said Starmer had gone further than any previous prime minister in allowing the independent watchdog to initiate investigations into suspected misconduct by ministers, rather than requiring permission.
However, he said the updated code stopped short of much more comprehensive reforms – including making the findings of the independent adviser on ministerial interests binding rather than advisory.
There have been calls for wider reform since Boris Johnson refused to accept a report by his independent adviser, Sir Alex Allan, in 2020 when he found that the then home secretary, Priti Patel, had broken the ministerial code by bullying civil servants. Johnson’s decision to ignore the advice led Allan to quit.
In an article for Civil Service World, Penman said: “Under the new ministerial code, the prime minister is still the ultimate decision-maker on guilt. The adviser does just that – advises. There is also no obligation to publish the advice; the adviser ‘may’ require publication.
“The process is predicated on influence and cajoling a prime minister to do the right thing with threats of publication if not, a legacy of incremental changes to the code where successive prime ministers have clung on to the power of final decision – despite facing pressure to give it up. That is a far cry from a truly independent process.”
A Labour source said: “Unlike our Conservative predecessors, this government knows the importance of restoring trust in politics. That’s why we have strengthened the ministerial code, including closing the Tory freebies loophole and delivering on our manifesto pledge to give the independent adviser unprecedented new powers.”
In a foreword to the code, Starmer called the restoration of trust in politics “the great test of our era”.
The government’s updated code gives Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, the power to launch investigations into potential breaches of the ministerial code. Previously, they had to be approved by the prime minister.
It also set out that ministers will still be allowed to receive gifts and hospitality but must show good judgment and declare the value of anything they receive.
The new rules bring declarations for ministers more in line with those for backbench MPs, with a monthly register of ministerial gifts and hospitality that will declare the value of anything accepted.
