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.

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.