Ministerial Code of the United Kingdom

E57961

The Ministerial Code of the United Kingdom is a set of ethical and procedural rules that governs the conduct, responsibilities, and standards of behavior expected of government ministers.

Aliases (1)

Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf code of conduct
constitutional convention
ministerial code
appliesTo Cabinet ministers
UK government ministers
junior ministers
basedOn Seven Principles of Public Life
contains rules on appointments and patronage
rules on publication of memoirs by former ministers
rules on relations with the media
rules on travel and official visits
rules on use of official resources
country United Kingdom
definesPrinciple accountability
honesty
integrity
leadership
objectivity
openness
selflessness
enforcedBy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
enforcementMechanism political rather than legal
governs acceptance of gifts and hospitality by ministers
collective responsibility
conduct of ministers
conflicts of interest of ministers
handling of official information by ministers
individual ministerial responsibility
ministerial responsibilities
post-ministerial employment expectations
relations between ministers and Parliament
relations between ministers and civil servants
standards of behavior of ministers
use of government resources by ministers
issuedBy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
legalStatus non-statutory
overseenBy Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests
requires ministers to avoid conflicts between public duties and private interests
ministers to comply with the law
ministers to correct any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity
ministers to give accurate and truthful information to Parliament
ministers to keep separate their ministerial role and party political activities
ministers to safeguard the integrity of public life
ministers to treat civil servants with respect
ministers to uphold the highest standards of propriety
sanction dismissal of a minister
public apology
resignation of a minister
updatedBy successive prime ministers


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