Video Transcript
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Hello and welcome to Parliament. My name is Daniel Greenberg. I am the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and I am delighted to congratulate you upon your election as a Member of Parliament.
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My main task, under the Standing Orders of the House, is to oversee and monitor the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Members. I am also the decision maker under Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme for Bullying and Harassment and Sexual misconduct cases involving MP's. The Code of Conduct, the Guide to the Rules and the Behaviour Code on which the misconduct policies are based are short documents published on parliament.uk.
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The Code of Conduct is just three pages, and the Behaviour Code is just one page.
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As an MP, you are personally and individually responsible for compliance with all these rules from the time you are elected, and you will wish to take an early opportunity to familiarise yourself with them. The purpose of the House, whose Code of Conduct is to build a common understanding of what behaviour and attitudes the House wishes to promote or considers unacceptable. To ensure the openness and accountability essential to the proper functioning
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of a representative democracy.
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To protect and enhance the reputation of the House of Commons in order that the public can have justifiable confidence in it. To ensure all Members can and do speak and act without fear or favour, and to give clarity for Members and the public about the rules of conduct which underpin these standards, which are expected of all Members in undertaking their duties.
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Members who breached the Code undermine these standards that the House has set down and risk sanctioned by the House, which in the most serious cases can result ultimately in the end of their parliamentary career. The code rests on the Nolan principles of standards in public life, openness, accountability, honesty, integrity, objectivity, selflessness and leadership.
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Those are all principles of which we can be rightly proud and which guide the vast majority of MP's and their staff in their everyday activities, as a result of which they give superb and much appreciated service to the members of the public whom they represent.
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The House requires new members to register their interests within one month of their election, and changes to a Member's list of interests are required to be registered within 28 days of occurrence.
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Those interests are published in the Register of Members Financial Interests. Chapter one of the Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members covers each of the 10 categories of registrable interest in detail, and the Registrar of Members, Financial Interests and his team stand ready to support you should you have any questions. Chapter two of the guide covers Declaration of interests. Declaration is not the same as registration.
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In summary,
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when participating in most parliamentary activities, Members must declare any interest, even if that interest is not registerable. That might reasonably be thought by others to influence their actions or words.
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The rules about lobbying set out in chapter three of the Guide are designed to ensure that Members do not take payment for advocating a particular matter in parliamentary proceedings,
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and the rules about outside interests in Chapter four of the Guide prohibit the provision of paid parliamentary advice by Members.
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These rules are all relatively straightforward. The Registrar or I will always be happy to advise on any issue you may have, and I have published a number of short advice notes on my parliamentary web page to support Members in applying the Code of Conduct by addressing questions that have occurred relatively frequently.
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There are also rules about the use of House facilities by Members, including the use of stationery provided by the House, access tours, photography and filming, and digital services, which are available on the Parliamentary intranet in the rules register, along with contact details for specific advice which you should seek if you are in any way unsure of the rules. Finally, I draw your attention to paragraph 11 of the Code of Conduct, which requires
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Members not to undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its Members generally. As an officer appointed by the House, I am immensely proud to have been given this opportunity to support Members in their dedication to public service and to facilitate maintenance of the highest standards of public service in all that they do.
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My team and I will always seek to support you to uphold the rules set by the House. I look forward to seeing you any time you wish to ask a question or simply to discuss any matter relating to the Code or standards. Generally, consultation in advance may avoid problems arising after the event and I am always at your service for that purpose.
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Thank you for your attention and please accept my best wishes for success in your endeavours during your time in Parliament.