Review of the House of Lords code of conduct

Approximate read time: 10 minutes

On 8 October 2024 the House of Lords is scheduled to hold a debate on the ongoing review of the House of Lords code of conduct by the House of Lords Conduct Committee.

1. Previously scheduled debate for 10 June 2024

In March 2024, the House of Lords Conduct Committee launched a review of the ‘Code of conduct for members’ and the ‘Guide to the code of conduct’.^[1] The committee was reappointed on 22 July 2024 following the general election and re-opened its call for evidence with a deadline for written submissions of 31 October 2024.^[2] The committee has nine members: five are members of the House and four are lay members. The committee is chaired by Baroness Manningham-Buller (Crossbench).

On 20 May 2024, before the general election was announced, Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Conservative) asked whether the then government and the usual channels would facilitate a debate on the review:

Would the leader of the House be willing to discuss with his colleagues in the usual channels a debate on the ongoing review into the code of conduct? As noble Lords will know, the conduct committee is conducting a wide-ranging review of the code, and the outcome of its deliberations will affect all members of this House. It is therefore very important that the committee can hear views from members from across the House before it concludes its inquiries and reports.^[3]

Lord True, then leader of the House of Lords, said that a debate would be scheduled for 10 June 2024:

The chief whip and I have taken the liberty of discussing this with some colleagues in the usual channels and, of course, with my noble friend Lady Manningham-Buller, the chair of the conduct committee, in whose work I think I fairly say the House has the fullest confidence and trust.

I am pleased to say that we can enable a debate of the kind that my noble friend asks for on the code of conduct review in time for the conclusion of the evidence-taking part of the review, and this will be scheduled for 10 June in grand committee. The motion will be neutrally worded to enable all members to express their—no doubt varying—views before the evidence-taking period concludes. The purpose must not be to rake over the coals of specific cases but to assist the review and assist members by enabling discussion of the principles and actualities underlying the code of conduct.^[4]

Parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election on 30 May 2024, before the debate could take place.

2. What is the code of conduct?

The code of conduct for members of the House of Lords was first adopted in 2009, with the guide to the code of conduct agreed in 2010.^[5] The thirteenth, and most recent edition, was published in September 2023.^[6]

The purpose of the code of conduct is:

• to provide guidance for members of the House of Lords on the standards of conduct expected of them in the discharge of their parliamentary duties. Save for paragraphs 19 to 26, the code does not extend to members’ performance of duties unrelated to parliamentary proceedings, or to their private lives. Paragraph 19 sets out the standards of conduct required of members in their treatment of those with whom they come into contact in the course of their parliamentary duties and activities, whether on the parliamentary estate or elsewhere.
• to provide the openness and accountability necessary to reinforce public confidence in the way in which members of the House of Lords perform their parliamentary duties.^[7]

Members agree to sign an undertaking to abide by the code when they take the oath on their introduction to the House of Lords and at the start of each parliament.

The code consists of general principles and rules of conduct. It also includes paragraphs on its enforcement and paragraphs on advice and review. The general principles of the code include observation of the seven general principles of conduct identified by the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The code of conduct for members of the House of Lords states that these principles are taken into account in cases where an alleged breach of the code is under investigation “and should act as a guide to members in considering the requirement to act always on their personal honour”.^[8] The seven principles are:

• Selflessness: holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
• Integrity: holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
• Objectivity: holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
• Accountability: holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
• Openness: holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
• Honesty: holders of public office should be truthful.
• Leadership: holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and be willing to challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.^[9]

However, frequently asked questions for complainants on the UK Parliament website states that breaches based solely on the seven principles would not be considered:

The code provides that these principles will be taken into account during any investigation into an allegation of a breach of a specific part of the code. However, the guide to the code is clear that complaints will not be entertained solely on the basis of alleged failures to abide by the seven principles unsupported by specific evidence of a breach of the code.^[10]

The rules of conduct include several requirements for members, including members registering interests to assist in openness and accountability. Members shall:

(a) register in the register of Lords’ interests all relevant interests, in order to make clear what are the interests that might reasonably be thought to influence their parliamentary actions;
(b) declare when speaking in the House, or communicating with ministers or public servants, any interest which is a relevant interest in the context of the debate or the matter under discussion;
(c) act in accordance with any rules agreed by the House in respect of financial support for members or the facilities of the House.^[11]

Other rules include attendance at seminars on bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct:

New members must, within three months of introduction, arrange to attend one of the seminars established by the House to raise awareness of, and to prevent, bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct. In addition, members returning from leave of absence or disqualification who have not previously attended such a seminar must, within three months of their return, arrange to do so. A failure to arrange to attend a seminar within the specified period is a breach of this code.^[12]

The guide to the code of conduct explains the application of the code.

House of Lords commissioners for standards are responsible for investigating allegations that the code of conduct has been breached by a member. This includes the rules that govern financial support for members, use of parliamentary facilities and the member’s treatment of people they interact with in the course of their parliamentary duties.^[13] The commissioners for standards are unable to act where matters fall outside of the scope of the code. The UK Parliament website states that:

For the most part, the scope of the code is restricted to members’ conduct in the course of “the discharge of their parliamentary duties” or, in the case of the provisions on bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct, “parliamentary duties and activities”. Where matters fall outside the scope of the code, the commissioners are unable to act.

Certain matters are specified as being outside of the commissioner’s remit to investigate irrespective of whether they would otherwise fall within the remit of the code. These include:

• policy matters or a member’s views or opinions;
• the funding of political parties;
• alleged breaches of the separate code governing the conduct of government ministers as ministers; and
• members’ non-parliamentary activities.^[14]

The commissioners for standards’ reports are reviewed by the House of Lords Conduct Committee. Members are able to appeal to the committee:

A member who has been found to have breached the code of conduct has a right of appeal to the Conduct Committee, which then reports its conclusions and recommendations to the House. The final decision on imposing serious sanctions upon members rests with the House.^[15]

The guide to the code of conduct sets out the full process for investigating alleged breaches of the code of conduct.^[16]

3. What is the review looking at?

The House of Lords Conduct Committee’s review into the code of conduct was launched in March 2024. The committee has said that whilst the code of conduct and the guide have been “much amended and expanded”, they have not been the subject of a comprehensive review since they were adopted in 2009.^[17]

In its call for evidence, the committee stated that the code and the guide “have served the House well, and the Conduct Committee will take the current level of regulation of members’ conduct as its starting point”.^[18] The committee has said that the review provides an opportunity to:

[…] shorten and clarify the code and guide where possible, to reflect on how their presentation could be improved, both for members and the public, and to consider whether any other changes are needed in the light of developments over the past 15 years.^[19]

Although the committee has said the review is an opportunity to shorten the code, it has also stated that in undertaking the review it will seek to “promote the key objective in paragraph 3 of the code of reinforcing public confidence in the House of Lords”.^[20] It said that “in so doing, the committee will also seek to further the other objective of providing clear guidance to members on the standards of conduct expected of them”.

The review has asked for written submissions to address the following questions:

• Are any elements of the code and guide unclear or confusing? If so, how can they be clarified?
• Are any provisions of the code or guide unnecessary?
• Do any of the rules for members’ conduct need to be updated, in line with wider developments since 2009?
• Are there any gaps or omissions in the code and guide? In particular, should there be a rule covering behaviour by members that causes significant reputational damage to the House as a whole? If so, how would this relate to the existing rule that members “should act always on their personal honour”?
• How can the presentation of the code and guide be improved, to make it more accessible and user-friendly?
• Are there any other issues, not covered in these questions, that you would like to raise?

4. Read more

• House of Lords Library, ‘Parliamentary democracy and standards in public life in 2023’, 21 December 2023. This briefing was written to support the following debate in the House of Lords: Debate on ‘Parliamentary democracy and standards in public life’, HL Hansard, 11 January 2024, cols 110–47.

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Cover image by Jacob Diehl on Unsplash.