Pressure is growing on Johnson to reset his approach to ethical standards

The Committee for Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has become the latest organisation to call on the prime minister to strengthen the system for ensuring that ministers and others in public life adhere to the standards expected of them.^[1] As the government’s statement on civil service reform says, "we have and expect high standards for conduct in public life." ^[2] The committee joins the Institute for Government, Transparency International UK, ^[3] the Public Relations and Communications Association ^[4] and others in setting out a series of changes that Boris Johnson can make to the rules governing ministerial behaviour, and the way these rules are enforced, to rebuild public trust in those standards. The growing chorus of complaints and calls for change require a response from the prime minister – and a commitment to change not just the rules, but also the culture of his government. 

Boris Johnson should implement the committee’s recommendations

The CSPL report sets out plenty of sensible ideas, including many that align with our own recommendations. Chief among these is the need to strengthen the independence of Johnson’s adviser on ministerial interests, Lord Geidt.  Appointed by Johnson in April, Geidt is not allowed to begin his own investigations or publish the findings of his work without the prime minister’s permission.^[5] To be a truly independent adviser, he should be able to investigate without first having to ask the prime minister.

There are other recommendations in the CPSL report that Johnson should take up. Ministers should be far more transparent about whom they discuss government business with and when they are being lobbied. As the committee argues, the current arrangements are not fit for purpose. Ministers should have to declare every month whom they have met and what they have discussed with them, regardless of whether they met face to face, exchanged messages or spoken on the phone. And the Cabinet Office should make sure this information is readily available in one place, in a timely manner, so that it can be easily accessed and analysed.

The committee also had suggestions about ensuring that those who have left ministerial office continue to abide by the rules. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), the body responsible for advising former ministers and senior civil servants on jobs they take on after leaving government, has no way of enforcing its advice.^[6] The CSPL thinks this should change, with contractual obligations on officials and advisers to abide by the business appointment rules, and similar arrangements, or civil penalties, for former ministers (who do not have contracts). Such a move would show that this government is serious about upholding high standards, both now and in the future.

The government has not shown any inclination to change the system

Johnson missed an opportunity to strengthen the system when he appointed Geidt without giving him any more substantial powers. And other decisions by the government suggest that it does not recognise that the case for change is growing. A response by the Cabinet Office to the CSPL’s consultation on standards earlier in the year said that “Her Majesty’s Government has a full framework in place to ensure… those who serve government… act in accordance with the highest ethical standards and in the public interest.” It also argued that “the provisions in place ensure that the public can trust the government”.^[7] But this does not recognise that recent revelations of lobbying and accusations of poor behaviour have damaged its reputation. The government should not make the classic mistake of waiting for a full-blown scandal before making changes.

Johnson can seize this opportunity – or miss it, again

The prime minister committed to publishing an updated version of the Ministerial Code when he appointed Geidt.^[8] This is an important opportunity for Johnson to start changing the perception that, despite what he says, he does not prioritise upholding standards. The new code should bolster the role of the adviser and, as the CSPL has also argued, be clearer that a range of sanctions is available when a minister is found to have breached the code, reducing the expectation that a breach automatically means resignation. Most importantly, it should set out higher and clearer expectations of behaviour – as the UK system relies mainly on self-assessment and self-policing by ministers, setting out clearly what is expected of them will be helpful for ministers as well as for the public.

Real change relies on Johnson demonstrating leadership – one of the seven principles of public life^[9] – on an issue he has been reluctant to lead on. The rules will only be strengthened if the prime minister wants them to be strengthened, but regardless of the rules and how they are enforced, the culture of the government is ultimately always set by the prime minister. It is not clear that Johnson is up to the task.

1. Committee on Standards in Public Life, Standards Matter 2: The Committee's Findings, 14 June 2021 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-matter-2-the-committees-findings
2. Cabinet Office, Declaration on Government Reform, 15 June 2021 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/993902/FINAL_Declaration_on_Government_Reform.pdf
3. Twitter, Transparency International UK, 14 June 2021, https://twitter.com/TransparencyUK/status/1404360639246745602?s=20
4. PRCA, Lobbying Industry publishes 6-point Public Confidence Plan for Reform in response to Cameron Inquiry, 13 April 2021, https://news.prca.org.uk/lobbying-industry-publishes-6-point-public-confidence-plan-for-reform-in-response-to-cameron-inquiry/
5. No10 Downing Street, Letter from the prime minister to Lord Evans, 28 April 2021, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/981905/Letter_from_the_Prime_Minister_to_Lord_Evans__…
6. Gov.uk, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, no date, https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/advisory-committee-on-business-appointments
7. Committee on Standards in Public Life, Evidence from the Minister of State for the Constitution and Devolution, 26 April 2021, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-from-the-minister-of-state-for-the-constitution-and-devolution
8. No10 Downing Street, Letter from the prime minister to Lord Evans, 28 April 2021, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/981905/Letter_from_the_Prime_Minister_to_Lord_Evans__…
9. Committee on Standards in Public Life, The Seven Principles of Public Life, 31 May 1995,  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life