Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which team in his Department has responsibility for handling formal complaints against Ministers.

The Government takes any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously, and has established processes for the handling of complaints.

The Prime Minister's constitutional position as head of Government gives him sole responsibility for the overall organisation of the Executive. The ultimate responsibility for decisions on matters of Ministerial conduct is therefore, quite properly, that of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister’s expectations of Ministers are set out in the Ministerial Code, which makes clear that Ministers are expected to maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety.

Where there is a complaint or allegation about a breach of the Code, the Prime Minister may ask the Cabinet Office to investigate the facts of the case and/or refer the matter to the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests.

The Prime Minister has committed to appointing an Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, and the appointment process is in train.