Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

Any new code of conduct would be the property of an incoming Prime Minister, who would devise his own code of conduct and guidance. I think I am right in saying that a previous Conservative Prime Minister was the first to publish the code of guidance for Ministers. If the hon. Gentleman wants a categorical assurance, however, he will have to wait until a later occasion. We welcome the Government's decision finally to bring forward these amendments for debate, and I hope that the Secretary of State will respond to the substantive issues that I have raised. We all want to see a new system up and running by the time of the next Parliament, but, in achieving that objective, we should be able to ask legitimate questions about how the new regime will be run, how it will work and how much it will cost. These are the questions that will be in the minds of our constituents, and it is right that we should have answers to give them.