Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 12 Jun 2025 Parliament page
This inquiry will consider whether the Ministerial Code adequately sets out what the House should expect of Ministers making the most important announcements of government policy. We will ask whether those requirements are observed with sufficient rigour by Ministers. Additionally, we will consider the appropriate balance in deciding between a … Read more
11 Recommendations
18 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
3 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 7 events
4 Jun
2026
Report published
9 Jan
2026
Report published
3 Sep
2025
Oral evidence
16 Jul
2025
Oral evidence
15 Jul
2025
Correspondence
8 Jul
2025
Correspondence
12 Jun
2025
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
3 Sep 2025
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Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP · Department for Transport Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP
16 Jul 2025
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Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP · Department for Transport Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP Rt Hon Lucy Powell MP
Title HC No. Published Items Response
4th Report - Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code HC 1036 9 Jan 2026 29 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
17 Conclusion Deferred
4th Report - Ministerial Statement…
Publication process for major policy documents consistently breaches Ministerial Code principles
It is our assessment that in none of these examples can we be satisfied that the general principle has been met by the publication of relevant documents associated with major policy announcements. It is not clear how Members of the … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of timely publication but raises issues with current procedural requirements for written ministerial statements, inviting the Procedure Committee to review whether notice arrangements are optimal.
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18 Recommendation Deferred
4th Report - Ministerial Statement…
Ensure timely, transparent publication of documents, followed by oral statements for parliamentary scrutiny
In the examples cited, we do not agree that the publication of associated documents ahead of statements met the expectations of the general principle of the Code. However, subject to the Government making proper attempts to be open and transparent … Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes the recognition of timely document publication but does not commit to a follow-up oral statement. Instead, it defers to the House and Procedure Committee to explore whether current notice requirements for written ministerial statements can be made more flexible.
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23 Conclusion Deferred
4th Report - Ministerial Statement…
Written ministerial statements significantly enhance transparency and government openness to Parliament
The introduction of written ministerial statements in 2002 has proved to be a considerable success in increasing transparency and making government more open to Parliament and the public. It is for the Government to make a judgement about the correct … Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes the recognition of written ministerial statements but notes procedural challenges. They will seek views from the House and the Procedure Committee on whether current notice requirements remain optimal for timely information release.
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Government Response AI assessment · 29 of 11 classified
Accepted 9
Accepted in Part 5
Acknowledged 9
Deferred 3
Rejected 3
Total 11 recs + 18 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
15 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to Sir Laurie Magnus CBE, Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards on Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code Inquiry, dated 12.6.25
Parliament page
8 Jul 2025 To committee Letter from Sir Laurie Magnus CBE, Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards on Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code Inquiry, dated 30.6.25
Parliament page
12 Jun 2025 To committee Letter from the Speaker of the House of Commons on Paragraph 9.1 of the Ministerial Code, dated 23.5.25
Parliament page