HC Deb 17 December 1993 vol 234 c956W
Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Prime Minister what Civil Service rules or guidelines exist in relation to contact between civil servants and hon. Members and their personal staff; whether there have been any recent changes to any such rules or guidelines; and if he will place copies of any such rules or guidelines in the Library.

The Prime Minister

There have been no recent changes in guidelines concerning briefing of MPs by civil servants.

It is an established principle that civil servants should not engage in activities likely to call into question their political impartiality, or to give rise to criticism that people paid from public funds are being used for party political purposes.

Accordingly, the following rules apply:

  1. (a) civil servants in their official capacity are prohibited from attending conferences arranged by political parties;
  2. (b) they may not attend meetings of policy or subject groups of the parliamentary parties;
  3. (c) they may not attend all-party subject groups or committees except to accompany a Minister and to respond to factual questions;
  4. (d) these rules need not inhibit factual briefing by officials of MPs on overseas or regional visits;
  5. (e) Ministers may also arrange factual briefings by officials, for MPs of one party provided that a Minister attends the meeting and similar facilities are offered to MPs of other parties;
  6. (f) Ministers should always be present when MPs are to discuss sensitive areas of public policy with officials.

Written briefing material provided by officials to Ministers may be distributed to Back-Bench Members provided that it would be released to any bon fide inquirer and that hon. Members of all parties may have access to it.

The rules do not prevent agency chief executives and managers of local offices, with the Minister's approval, from communicating with hon. Members about problems of individual constituents.

The convention governing pre-election contacts between senior civil servants and Opposition leaders was set out in my reply to a written question by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) on 27 November 1991, at column 527.