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The main elements of the Bill

The main elements of the Bill include:

• placing the Civil Service on a statutory footing, by enshrining in law its core values of impartiality, integrity, honesty and objectivity, making provision for the appointment of special advisers and establishing an Independent Commission for the Civil Service
• giving MPs the final say on all treaties by placing in statute a requirement that they be laid before Parliament for 21 days before ratification and specifying the legal effects of a negative vote by the Commons or Lords
• reforming the role of the Attorney General, who will no longer be able to give a direction to prosecutors in individual cases,  save in certain exceptional circumstances when the Attorney General will need to report to Parliament. The Attorney General will be required to report to Parliament annually on the exercise of his/her functions in any event
• reducing the role of the Lord Chancellor in judicial appointments below the level of High Court and removing the Prime Minister from the process of appointing Supreme Court judges, and removing the requirement for the Lord Chief Justice to consult or obtain the agreement of the Lord Chancellor in exercising certain functions and providing compensating measures to enable the Lord Chancellor to discharge their duty to maintain the effectiveness of the overall justice system
• removing restrictions on protests around Parliament by repealing the requirement to give notice of demonstrations in the designated area and removing the offence of holding such a demonstration without the authorisation of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner