Keir Starmer’s flagship new ethics and integrity commission may be a rebrand of existing watchdogs brought together under a new “umbrella” rather than creating an entirely fresh regulator, government sources have said.
A year after Labour made its manifesto promise, ministers are mulling the idea of a new oversight structure above current regulators to avoid the need for starting from scratch.
They are also considering abolishing some regulators, with one option being to get rid of the lobbying watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) and splitting its functions between the independent adviser on ministerial standards for former politicians and the civil service commission for former officials.
Acoba has widely been criticised for being toothless, so any redistribution of its responsibilities could be an opportunity for new penalties for those flouting lobbying rules.
Another possibility is formalising the regular meetings of standards watchdogs, convened by the committee on standards in public life, chaired by former military chief Doug Chalmers.
However, asked last week whether he wanted responsibility for a new ethics and integrity watchdog, Chalmers told a panel that he did not want the role.
Sources suggested the new commission could have its own website “signposting” to existing ethics structures and providing an overarching governance.
Several Whitehall sources said the process of coming up with a new ethics structure had proved more complex than initially thought and that ministers were increasingly reluctant to add a whole new body at a time when they are trying to shrink the civil service rather than expand it.
There are multiple bodies with elements of standards as part of their remit including the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Acoba, the CSPL, the parliamentary standards commissioners, the civil service commission, the independent complaints and grievance service, the House of Lords appointments commission, the electoral commission, the UK parliamentary standards authority (Ipsa), the UK statistics authority and the registrar of consultant lobbyists. Part of the complication is that their responsibilities are fairly distinct and some report to parliament while others are responsible to the government.
Tim Durrant, programme director at the Institute for Government (IfG), said: “Labour committed to creating an ethics and integrity commission in their manifesto but more important than the structure is how the standards system works. If all they do is create a new organisation that doesn’t fix the underlying issues.”
The government has faced criticism over the length of time it has taken to establish the new commission, which was originally championed by deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who no longer has the brief.
Earlier this month, parliament’s public administration committee launched a new inquiry to examine the seeming lack of progress and to push the government on what has happened to its ethics commitments.
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It was one of Keir Starmer’s flagship manifesto pledges that the new Labour government would “establish a new independent ethics and integrity commission, with its own independent chair, to ensure probity in government”.
The party promised to “restore confidence in government and ensure ministers are held to the highest standards”, and to enforce restrictions on ministers lobbying for companies they used to regulate, with meaningful sanctions for those breaching the rules.
However, there was no blueprint for a commission ready to go when Starmer formed the government last year. It has barely been mentioned by ministers since last July. The prime minister published a new ministerial code last year, allowing the independent adviser on ministerial standards to start his own investigations into misconduct without requiring permission from the prime minister.
It is understood the government is hoping to come forward with proposals soon for a new ethics structure.
A government spokesperson said: “This government is committed to establishing the right structures to uphold the highest standards in public life. We have already taken steps to improve probity and transparency, including through introducing a new ministerial code which emphasises the principles of public life, by strengthening the terms of reference for the independent adviser, and by introducing a new monthly register of gifts and hospitality.”