PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Cabinet Office - 13 April 2026 (Commons/Written Corrections)

Can the Minister confirm that the new head of propriety and ethics was appointed without a fully open, competitive recruitment process, and that the outgoing head of propriety and ethics was promoted to permanent secretary also without a fully open recruitment process? If so, he will know that both those appointments were in breach of rules put in place by the last Government—by myself as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster—unless an individual Minister signed off a waiver from the process. Can he say which Minister signed off such an exemption, and why patronage is preferred to open recruitment for such sensitive roles?

I was not privy to those appointments, so I cannot confirm the exact details that the right hon. Member asks of me. What I can say is that the senior civil servant who is currently acting as the director of propriety and ethics is a temporary appointment subject to a full recruitment in due course, which is in line with the rules that the right hon. Member refers to.

[Official Report, 23 February 2026; Vol. 781, c. 32.]

Written correction submitted by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the right hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones):

…What I can say is that the senior civil servant who is currently acting as the director general of the propriety and constitution group is a temporary appointment subject to a full recruitment in due course, which is in line with the rules that the right hon. Member refers to.

Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address

The following extract is from the statement on the Government response to the Humble Address relating to Lord Mandelson on 23 February 2026.

… I welcome comments from the Prime Minister calling for legislation to remove peerages from disgraced peers such as Mandelson, and I hope he will go even further and look at the line of succession in the royal family—I welcome those updates. My constituents, victims groups and everyone I speak to say that it is great to hear the messages, but they want to know when. Do we have any timescales for when this legislation will be brought to the House?

We are working with relevant advisers and Departments to scope the Bill, and the measures that need to be brought forward for that to be effective. The legislation raises a number of constitutional questions, which have taken some time for the Government to consider. The last time peerages were removed, I think, was in the 1600s, so it is not something that has been done recently. We must ensure that the scope and drafting of the Bill is done in a way that means it will be effective when it is brought forward to the House.

[Official Report, 23 February 2026; Vol. 781, c. 47.]

Written correction submitted by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister (Darren Jones):

… The last time peerages were removed was in 1917, so it is not something that has been done recently.