Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department first received a communication from the hon. Member for Plymouth Moor View on the (a) continuation and (b) termination of his role at Crucial Academy Ltd.

The Ministerial Code sets out the process by which Ministers should declare and manage potential conflicts of interest, working with their Permanent Secretary and the independent adviser on Ministers’ interests.

As part of this process the Minister declared his directorship in Crucial Academy following his appointment and has resigned from this role. Whilst this process has been underway, the Ministry of Defence put in place measures to avoid any potential conflict. Sir Alex Allan, the independent adviser, has not raised any concerns about the conduct and there has been no breach of the Ministerial Code.