Lord Evans, head of ethics compliance, reopened the debate, echoing calls for a “guideline” cap on the amount of time MPs spend to other businesses. Photo: Andy Bailey/UK Parliament.
Boris Johnson's plan to impose restrictions on the second work of MPs after the lobbying scandal with Owen Paterson was rejected.
The government will not move forward with a proposal to impose “reasonable” restrictions on part-time work so that MPs do not neglect their full “terms of duty”.
This came after Lord Evans, head of the ethics oversight committee , resumed the debate, repeating calls for an “indicative” ceiling on the time MPs spend on other businesses.
This was announced by the chairman of the committee on standards in public life. Sky News: “We offered to provide indicative figures in hours. So far, the parliamentary authorities have not decided to go down this path, but we think that there is an attraction in this.”
Ultimately, it is up to MPs, not the government, to set the rules for the use of outside work.
Mr Johnson has proposed new restrictions on MPs' second jobs after he was pressured for meanness Tories in light of the Paterson furor that caused a major scandal over standards in politics.
When Mr. Paterson – who has always denied wrongdoing – was found to have violated lobbying rules, the government attempted to delay his punishment by having the Tories delay deciding his fate.
The move sparked fury within the party, and Downing Street was forced to retreat. on blueprints less than 24 hours after they were pushed through the camera.
In a November 2021 letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Johnson called for a clause to be added to MPs' code of conduct, in line with the ethics watch body's recommendation that “any extraneous activity of a Member of Parliament, paid or unpaid, must be within reasonable limits and must not interfere with their full performance of their duties.
He also supported the ban on the activities of MPs as paid parliamentary councilors, which was subsequently approved by the House of Commons and included in the code.
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Mr. Johnson said the changes “ensure that MPs who neglect their duties to the electorate and prioritize outside interests are investigated and punished accordingly by existing disciplinary bodies.”
But in his own review two weeks later the House of Commons Standards Committee warned that a rule setting “reasonable limits” for other offices would not be “workable or enforceable”.
The committee stated that this would require a member of the parliamentary commissioner. about standards for making “highly subjective and potentially biased political judgments about an MP’s time use, priorities and performance as an MP.”
Last May, the standards committee reported that “no restrictions should not be placed on the time a participant can spend working outside the home, or on the income they can earn from doing so.
He added: “Nor should any rule be introduced that would require the commissioner to pass judgment on whether a member is diligent enough, a decision that should be reserved only for the voters of the member.”
However, this suggested that those who take “any official paid job in an external body” should “obtain a written contract or a written statement of the details of their duties” and submit it to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards “upon request”.
In its response, published last fall, the government agreed to lift the restriction on part-time work.
A new code of conduct, incorporating most of the standards committee's recommendations, including requiring MPs to disclose details of their second job on request, was later adopted by the House of Commons.
A government spokesman said: “Integrity, professionalism and transparency are core values of this government. The main task of a deputy is and should be to serve his constituents and represent their interests in parliament.”
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