Chair calls on Cabinet Secretary to redraft EU referendum guidance
21 March 2016
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) Chair, Bernard Jenkin MP, calls on Cabinet Secretary to withdraw and redraft EU referendum guidance: Prime Minister has left him in “impossible position”.
- Letter from Bernard Jenkin MP to Sir Jeremy Heywood, 8 March 2016
- Letter from Sir Jeremy Heywood to Bernard Jenkin MP, 14 March 2016
- Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Correspondence with Cabinet Secretary
In a letter to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, Bernard Jenkin MP, Chair of PACAC, repeated his demand that the Cabinet Secretary should withdraw and redraft his EU referendum - Guidance for the Civil Service and Special Advisers set out in his letter of 23 February 2016, and the subsequent Cabinet Office Q&A Guidance issued by the Cabinet Office. The letters have been published. PACAC's letter is based on advice from Speaker's Counsel.
Chair's comments
Commenting on the correspondence Bernard Jenkin MP said:
"Since Sir Jeremy Heywood, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, appeared before PACAC on Tuesday 1 March, we have had an exchange of letters, which leaves a highly unsatisfactory situation. Sir Jeremy's letter of 23 February left civil servants and ministers in a quandary of confusion about what information civil servants may give to Brexit ministers up until the referendum date. This confusion was compounded by the Q&A paper issued by the Cabinet Office. In oral evidence, Sir Jeremy helpfully set out his clarification of the situation, quoting precedent from 1975 (quoted in the PACAC letter to Sir Jeremy). Unfortunately, these clear words do not appear in his letter of 23 February and are contradicted by the Q&A.
This situation is highly irregular, remains confusing, and could even cause an injustice, because the words of Sir Jeremy in evidence to PACAC are subject to Parliamentary Privilege, and therefore not available to any employment tribunal or court, in the event of an employment dispute involving a civil servant's compliance with the guidance. I am also asking for this matter to be raised in the Liaison Committee because other Select Committee Chairs are raising concerns about how the Government can operate safely and effectively with this confusion. I believe it must be the Prime Minister who has placed the Cabinet Secretary in this impossible position, and it would not be for the first time."
Further information
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