Context
The question addresses the government's commitment to upholding standards in public life following criticisms and reviews.
Question
What steps he is taking to advance standards in public life. Integrity matters. Integrity and ethics speak of character, and motivation speaks of purpose. We are either on the side of our people in investing everything we have to serve, or we are on the side of ourselves in extracting everything we can get for ourselves. As self-serving Tories have exploited and extracted to the extent of putting this place into disrepute, will the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster assure us that he will not only appoint an ethics adviser immediately but adopt Labour's proposal of an independent integrity and ethics commission so that public trust can be restored?
Answer from Kit Malthouse
The Government are committed to upholding standards in public life and reinforcing our system. Tomorrow, a written ministerial statement will detail the government's work in response to Nigel Boardman's review and the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The hon. Lady is right to highlight the importance of ethics but wrong to cast stones at one side only. All parties have had issues in this area, and an independent system polices everyone. However, a single ethics commission seems disproportionate and does not fit well in our democratic system.
Not addressed: The specific request for immediate appointment of an ethics adviser and adoption of Labour's proposal was not directly addressed
How: All Parties Have Had Issues
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