MPs have urged the government to “comply” with the ministerial code when making major policy announcements or rewrite the rules.
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee launched an inquiry into how, where and when the most important government announcements are made to parliament in June after the speaker of the house, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, asked the MPs to look into the issue.
Chapter nine of the ministerial code says: “When parliament is in session, the most important announcements of government policy should be made in the first instance in parliament.”
However, Hoyle and MPs across the House of Commons have raised concerns about the failure of ministers to make major policy announcements to the house before they make them to the media.
In a report published today, the committee said it shares these concerns and believes “the current situation where the ministerial code sets a high bar for expectations which is regularly subject to accusations of being breached is undesirable”.
The MPs noted that this is a longstanding issue for which successive governments have been criticised.
They added that they “believe the current situation to be untenable” and called for the government to choose between two options to improve things.
“The responsibility for complying with the code rests with the government,” the report says. “An active commitment from the government to adhere to the ministerial code and the ‘parliament first’ principle is the easiest and most optimal solution to address the dissatisfaction of parliament and the subsequent question of what constitutes adequate sanctions for breaches.
“Alternatively, our report concludes that the government could, in consultation with members across the house, seek agreement on any changes to the ministerial code it feels are necessary to reflect a modern media age.”
If the government were to choose the latter suggestion, the committee said it should do so in consultation with MPs.
If the code remains unchanged, PACAC said major planned policy announcements when the House of Commons is not in session “should be restricted to those which are time sensitive or otherwise exceptional”.
The committee added that, where it is necessary to make a major announcement when the house is in session but not sitting, “we recommend that a minister should come to the house at the earliest opportunity to inform the house and allow for scrutiny and consideration”.
“The content of this statement should acknowledge that the normal practice of making the announcement first to parliament was not followed and provide an explanation,” the MPs said.
The report also concludes that it is the responsibility of ministers individually and the government collectively to be aware of the expectations of parliament and maintain the confidence of the house when deciding what announcements count as “the most important”.
Simon Hoare, chair of PACAC, said: “The government must take its responsibilities to parlament under the ministerial code seriously. It is not a political version of pick ‘n’ mix. It is the crucial mechanism for ensuring accountability to members of parliament and, therefore, the public.
“If ministers are not willing to follow the current principles of the code, a way forward should be found in consultation with MPs and the speaker. We cannot have a continuation of the speaker reprimanding ministers in the chamber, for the minister to offer some sort of apology or justification only for the same breach of the code to happen a few weeks later. Parliament cannot be sidelined and parliament will not let itself be sidelined. All of our constituents deserve better.
“A failure to address this issue risks perpetuating the cycle of growing discontent between parliament and the government. It is in everyone’s best interests to avoid this.”