Steve Barclay

Steve Barclay

Conservative — North East Cambridgeshire

Speaking in the House of Commons on 23 February 2026

Debate

Labour Together and APCO Worldwide: Cabinet Office Review

Contribution

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?

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