Leader’s Group on the Code of Conduct: report

The Group was appointed to consider the code of conduct and the rules relating to members’ interests and to make recommendations. The first part of the report describes the background to the Group’s work, summarises the reasoning and key conclusions. Parts two and three contain the Group’s proposed new code of conduct and the new guide to the rules on the conduct of members. Key recommendations include: there should be a Commissioner for Standards; investigation of complaints relating to financial support arrangements should be part of the Commissioner’s remit; there should be a ban on ‘parliamentary consultancies’; there should be a shorter code with a more detailed guide; the code should include a positive statement on the role of the House and the contributions that members were expected to make; and, there should be a stronger emphasis on induction and explicit acceptance of the standards contained in the code.