Have your say on MPs' Code of Conduct
18 March 2011
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is seeking views on the scope and content of the House of Commons Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has published a consultation paper which sets out a number of questions for consideration. Consultees are invited to respond to all or any of these questions, and to make any other points they would wish to have considered.
Background to the consultation
The review of the Code is the first since 2004. The Code of Conduct for MPs was first agreed by the House of Commons on 24 July 1996.
The purpose of the current Code of Conduct is to assist MPs in the discharge of their obligations to the House of Commons, their constituents and the public at large.
One of the principal duties of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is to monitor the operation of any Code of Conduct to which the House of Commons has agreed and to make recommendations on it to the Committee on Standards and Privileges.
Purpose of consultation
This consultation provides an opportunity for a fundamental review of the Code in the light of experience over the last seven years. A review in each Parliament was recommended by the independent Committee on Standards in Public Life in its eighth report in 2002.
Consultation paper and deadline for responses
Responses to this consultation must be received by 31 May 2011. Further information on the review, the Code of Conduct and the consultation paper can be found on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' webpages.