§ Mrs. ShephardTo ask the Prime Minister what recent assessment he has made of the compliance of(a) Ministers and (b) Parliamentary Private Secretaries with paragraph 46 of the Ministerial Code. [57113]
§ The Prime MinisterWith regard to Ministers I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 27 January 1998,Official Report, column 130.
As paragraphs 44 and 46 of the Ministerial Code make clear, Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not members of the Government, and it is for Ministers to ensure that their Parliamentary Private Secretaries are aware of certain principles which should govern their behaviour in the House of Commons or in any speeches made outside the House.