The Code of Conduct adopted by the House on 2nd July 2001 establishes a register and Registrar of Lords' Interests. The operation of the register is overseen by a Sub-Committee of the Committee for Privileges and the Registrar consults the Sub-Committee when necessary. The Code is printed below, as is guidance on the application of each category.

  The register is continually kept up to date in loose-leaf form and may be inspected at the Table of the House and in the Table Office and the Library. Members of the public can inspect the Register in the Parliamentary Archives and it is available online at www.parliament.uk. The Code requires that the register be reprinted once a year and this new printed edition meets this requirement and follows an exercise in which all Members of the House were invited to confirm or amend their entries.

  The Code requires all Members of the House of Lords in receipt of a Writ of Summons, who are not on Leave of Absence, to register all relevant interests. The test of relevance is whether the interest might reasonably be thought by the public to affect the way in which a Member discharges his or her parliamentary duties. Relevant interests include both financial and non-financial interests. Those interests which the Code identifies as "always relevant" must be registered and are set out in paragraphs 12 (financial) and 15 (non-financial) of the Code; other interests must be registered "depending on their significance" and are set out in paragraphs 13 and 16. Members must register relevant interests within one month of acquiring them.

  The Sub-Committee has recommended that registrations relating to paragraphs 13 and 16 of the Code (other relevant interests) be restricted to those interests which might reasonably be thought by the public to affect in general the way in which Members discharge their parliamentary duties. A Member may have additional interests, relevant in particular circumstances, which will then require declaration in the context of those circumstances (for example, a debate).

  The Code maintains the principle of "no paid advocacy". Thus Members "must not vote on any bill or motion, or ask any question in the House or a committee, or promote any matter, in return for payment or any other material benefit" (paragraph 4(d) of the Code). This restriction does not extend to matters relating to Members' outside employment or directorships, where the interest does not arise from membership of the House. Members should, however, be especially cautious in deciding whether to speak or vote in relation to interests that are direct, pecuniary and shared by few others.

  The advice of the Registrar should be sought whenever there is doubt as to whether an interest is relevant for the purposes of the register. A Member who acts on the advice of the Registrar in determining what is a relevant interest satisfies fully the requirements of the Code of Conduct. In cases of difficulty the Registrar will consult the Sub-Committee. Members of the House should accept its decision as if it were that of the House. For further guidance, Members may wish to consult paragraphs 4.76-4.82 of the Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords; the debates and resolutions of the House of 1st and 7th November 1995 and 2nd and 24th July 2001; and take the advice of the Registrar and other clerks.

  For the avoidance of doubt, visits made by Members under the auspices of the United Kingdom Government and Parliament, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Inter-Parliamentary Union are not registered. All other expenses-paid visits made by Members are registered, including those made under the auspices of All-Party Groups.

30 July 2008

MICHAEL POWNALL
Clerk of the Parliaments