Posted from
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/ministerial_code/
1.1 Ministers of the Crown are expected to behave according to the
highest standards of constitutional and personal conduct in the
performance of their duties.
1.2 This Code provides guidance to Ministers on how they should act
and arrange their affairs in order to uphold these standards. It
lists the principles which may apply in particular situations
drawing on past precedent. It applies to all members of the
Government (and covers Parliamentary Private Secretaries in section
2).
1.3 Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act
and conduct themselves in the light of the Code and for justifying
their actions and conduct in Parliament. The Code is not a
rulebook, and it is not the role of the Secretary of the Cabinet or
other officials to enforce it or to investigate Ministers although
they may provide Ministers with private advice on matters which it
covers.
1.4 Ministers only remain in office for so long as they retain the
confidence of the Prime Minister. He is the ultimate judge of the
standards of behaviour expected of a Minister and the appropriate
consequences of a breach of those standards, although he will not
expect to comment on every allegation that is brought to his
attention.
1.5 The Code should be read against the background of the
overarching duty on Ministers to comply with the law, including
international law and treaty obligations, to uphold the
administration of justice and to protect the integrity of public
life. They are expected to observe the Seven Principles of Public
Life set out in the first report of the Committee on Standards in
Public Life, repeated in annex A, and the following principles of
Ministerial conduct:
* Ministers must uphold the principle of collective
responsibility;
* Ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and be held to
account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their
departments and agencies;
* it is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and
truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent
error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead
Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime
Minister;
* Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the
public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would
not be in the public interest which should be decided in accordance
with the relevant statutes and the Freedom of Information Act
2000;
* Ministers should similarly require civil servants who give
evidence before Parliamentary Committees on their behalf and under
their direction to be as helpful as possible in providing accurate,
truthful and full information in accordance with the duties and
responsibilities of civil servants as set out in the Civil Service
Code;
* Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or appears to
arise, between their public duties and their private
interests;
* Ministers should avoid accepting any gift or hospitality which
might, or might reasonably appear to, compromise their judgment or
place them under an improper obligation;
* Ministers in the House of Commons must keep separate their roles
as Minister and constituency Member;
* Ministers must not use government resources for Party political
purposes. They must uphold the political impartiality of the Civil
Service and not ask civil servants to act in any way which would
conflict with the Civil Service Code.
1.6 Ministers must also comply at all times with the requirements
which Parliament itself has laid down, including in particular the
Codes of Conduct for their respective Houses. For Ministers in the
Commons, these are set by the Resolution carried on 19 March 1997
(Official Report columns 1046-47), and for Ministers in the Lords
the Resolution can be found in the Official Report of 20 March 1997
column 1057.
Propriety and Ethics Team, Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall, London
SW1A 2AS
Did our ministers in charge of regulating the affairs of
charitable organizations comply with any of the codes of conduct
expected of ministers in the whole NKF saga whether in reporting
the incidents to parliament or replies to the media if we are to
use the above-stated UK codes as an example.
If the ministers concerned cannot report facts accurately to
parliament what would they be guilty of based on the above-stated
codes?
