Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total initial and recurring cost to public authorities of drafting, consulting upon, publishing, maintaining, reviewing, training staff upon and enforcing the codes required by clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Code of Ethical provisions as set out in the Bill will allow public authorities flexibility to implement the Code to suit their organisation and sector. Given that most public bodies will already be covered by a form of code, it is anticipated that costs will not be substantial.

The scale of these costs can only be fully determined after Royal Assent. A further assessment of impact will, therefore, be undertaken at the appropriate stage.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of an inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court that a death by suicide was the result of side effects of finasteride; and whether they intend to commission further research on the implications for public policy and public safety.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) fully reviews and responds to all Prevention of Future Death report actions where they fall under the remit of the agency. The MHRA has not raised any report from Norfolk Coroner’s Court with the Department concerning the side effects of finasteride.

In 2024, the MHRA completed a thorough safety review into finasteride following concerns raised regarding a potential lack of awareness of its side effects amongst patients and healthcare professionals. I have attached a copy of the detailed public assessment report prepared by the MHRA following this safety review.

The MHRA has also published various drug safety updates to raise awareness of the risks of psychiatric side effects and sexual dysfunction associated with finasteride, including the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts. Patients are advised to stop using finasteride immediately if they develop depression or suicidal thoughts and seek advice from their healthcare professional, if any of the listed side effects become serious, or if they experience any side effects not listed in the patient information leaflet. Patient alert cards are being introduced in all finasteride packs to reiterate these warnings.

Patient safety is the MHRA’s top priority and it will continue to monitor finasteride and take any regulatory action required, based on any substantial new evidence that emerges.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regarding the findings of an inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court that a death by suicide was the result of side effects of finasteride; and what plans they have to commission further research on the implications that the drug may have on public policy and public safety.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) fully reviews and responds to all Prevention of Future Death report actions where they fall under the remit of the agency. The MHRA has not raised any report from Norfolk Coroner’s Court with the Department concerning the side effects of finasteride.

In 2024, the MHRA completed a thorough safety review into finasteride following concerns raised regarding a potential lack of awareness of its side effects amongst patients and healthcare professionals. I have attached a copy of the detailed public assessment report prepared by the MHRA following this safety review.

The MHRA has also published various drug safety updates to raise awareness of the risks of psychiatric side effects and sexual dysfunction associated with finasteride, including the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts. Patients are advised to stop using finasteride immediately if they develop depression or suicidal thoughts and seek advice from their healthcare professional, if any of the listed side effects become serious, or if they experience any side effects not listed in the patient information leaflet. Patient alert cards are being introduced in all finasteride packs to reiterate these warnings.

Patient safety is the MHRA’s top priority and it will continue to monitor finasteride and take any regulatory action required, based on any substantial new evidence that emerges.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the public authorities they expect to be subject to clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill already have a code of ethical or professional conduct applying to their public officials.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The requirement to adopt a Code of Ethical Conduct is intended to sit alongside, not replace, existing ethical or candour frameworks.

In many cases public authorities will be able to satisfy the requirement by updating or amending existing codes to meet the minimum standards. For example, the Civil Service Code will act as the Code of Ethical Conduct for the Civil Service.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which existing codes applying to public authorities differ in respect of honesty, candour, record keeping, disclosure, correction of known error, reasons for decisions, protected reporting, complaints, investigation and sanctions.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Public authorities are responsible for adopting and maintaining their organisational Code of Ethical Conduct. It is for each public authority to ensure that their organisation’s Code complies with the requirements set out in Chapter 2, Clause 10 of the Bill. This includes providing information about how staff can make protected disclosures and make complaints about the conduct of an organisation.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which existing codes of ethical or professional conduct they obtained and considered when preparing clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill; and whether they will place copies of, or links to, those codes in the Library of the House.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The provisions set out in the Bill have been developed on the basis of the Seven Principles of Public Life (the Nolan Principles). Codes must be used to drive ethical behaviour in a public authority and to be embedded in all aspects of their organisation’s work - the delivery of public services.

Public authorities will be required to take steps to make their staff aware of the Code and the consequences of failing to comply with it. Public authorities are required to publish their respective Code of Ethical Conduct.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the costs and resource implications of clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill were not separately quantified in the Bill’s impact assessment; and whether they will publish a supplementary assessment before the beginning of Committee stage in the House of Lords.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Most, if not all, public bodies will already be covered by a form of a Code of Ethical Conduct. Therefore, it is not anticipated that the impact in terms of costs will be substantial.

The scale of these costs can only be fully determined after Royal Assent. A further assessment of impact will, therefore, be undertaken at the appropriate stage.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of public authorities that will be required to establish and maintain a code of ethical conduct under clause 10 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill; and how any such estimate is broken down by (1) type of public authority, and (2) government department responsible for oversight.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

All core public authorities will be required to establish and publish a Code of Ethical Conduct, including all central government departments, National Health Services bodies, local authorities, police forces and state funded schools. Approximately six million public sector workers across the public sector are within scope of the Bill.

Found: Current membership House of Lords Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench; Life peer) Baroness Chakrabarti

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Found: Yours sincerely Lord Alton of Liverpool Chair, Joint Committee on Human Rights

Found: Minister of State for Social Care 39 Victoria Street London SW1H 0EU Lord Alton of Liverpool

Found: Current membership House of Lords Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench; Life peer) (Chair) Baroness Chakrabarti

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Found: Berriew, 26 November 2025. 122 Letter from the Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Lord Alton of Liverpool

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