Sally Jameson

I take the hon. Member’s point and will come back to her on that. As I say, the Bill is mainly with the Ministry of Justice, but I will ensure that she gets a response. I will not take any more interventions, given the time we have left. On the points raised by hon. Members on the independent adviser, the role advising the Prime Minister on the ministerial code has existed for 20 years. He is not an independent regulator, and the Government are not minded to change that in legislation. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) for his work on anti-corruption as chair of the APPG. I know that he recently met my noble Friend Baroness Twycross to discuss a number of issues, some of which he has raised today. The Government are working with Parliament to restore a politics of service consistent with the high standards expected of public office holders. The Modernisation Committee is exploring ways to drive up standards that also address matters of culture and procedure in the House of Commons, and the Government believe that the primary job of MPs is to represent their constituents. The Government fully support the inquiry being undertaken by the Committee on Standards to consider further changes to the rules on second jobs so that there are very limited exceptions, such as for MPs who need to do a minimum number of hours to maintain existing professional qualifications. I am sure that a number of the points raised in the House about this issue will have been heard. I take the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Dr Rushworth) on mayoral accountability. As he knows, I am working closely on this as part of the rewiring the state delivery plan, and I hope to be able to update him and others on that very soon. I also take the points raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) on how accountable government needs to be weaved throughout the rewiring the state programme across all tiers of Government as we progress through the devolution agenda. The EIC published its report on 9 July, having reviewed the current arrangements relating to financial disclosures for Ministers and senior officials; transparency around lobbying, including the Government’s publication of monthly and quarterly integrity data; and the business appointment rules. I thank the commission and its chair, Douglas Chalmers, for its thorough and considered work on these important matters. The Government are carefully considering the report’s findings and will present their response to Parliament in the not-too-distant future. Let me turn to some of the points raised by the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst). For legal reasons, I cannot discuss debarment, but he will be aware of what the legislation says and the powers that the Government now have in relation to that. I share his concern and annoyance at the performance of Capita in the civil service pension scheme, and we continue to work night and day to ensure that that is resolved. In relation to standards in local government, the Localism Act 2011 requires every local authority in England to adopt a code of conduct that conforms to the Nolan principles. The Government are committed to whole-system reform of the local government standards framework to make it stronger and more effective, and we will legislate on that when parliamentary time allows. I am aware that I have not covered all the points raised in the debate, but I have prevented myself from responding to some of the ludicrous claims from the Opposition. I want to express my full support for my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Heeley (Louise Haigh), who is doing an incredible job as our First Secretary of State and is a trailblazer for women in politics across the country. Madam Deputy Speaker, as you and the rest of the House will know, this Government take standards in public life incredibly seriously. I welcome this debate and all the views expressed on the Nolan principles, which have been heard by the Government, and I look forward to further conversations as the Government report back on many of the issues raised today.