Closed petition Lockdown breaches by Government officials must be treated as Gross Misconduct

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

• 1 December 2020

  Petition closed

• 10 November 2020

  Related activity

  Original Government response

  Government Departments have procedures in place which allow appropriate action to be taken should a civil servant receive a criminal conviction.

  The application of the law as set out in regulations made under The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 to all individuals, whether civil servants, other government officials or other members of the public, is a matter for the police and the courts.

  Government Departments have procedures in place which allow appropriate action to be taken should a civil servant receive a criminal conviction.

  Cabinet Office

  This response was given on 3 August 2020. The Petitions Committee then requested a revised response, that more directly addressed the request of the petition.

• 10 November 2020

  Government responded to this petition

  Government Departments have procedures in place which allow appropriate action to be taken should a civil servant receive a criminal conviction.

  Read the response in full

  Everyone should keep playing their part by following the measures brought in to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and by doing so we will be able to protect livelihoods and keep our economy moving.

  Regulations made under the Coronavirus Act 2020 apply to all individuals, whether civil servants, elected representatives or members of the public.

  The police (and courts) are responsible for the investigation of potential breaches by individuals and enforcement of any breaches against individuals, and the police and councils work together in relation to breaches by businesses. The police’s approach remains to engage, explain and encourage people to follow the rules in the first instance.

  Government departments have procedures in place which allow appropriate action to be taken should a civil servant receive a criminal conviction.

  All employees, including civil servants, are subject to departmental policies which includes provisions for disciplinary action in relation to misconduct occurring both inside and outside of employment.

  Allegations of inappropriate and/or criminal conduct in someone's private life may or may not be relevant to their employment role, depending on the circumstances, in which case employers will have disciplinary procedures in place to allow consideration of the person’s behaviour as required. In all cases, all the relevant factors should be considered before deciding on the appropriate course of action, and the applicability of disciplinary proceedings will always depend on the circumstances of the particular case.

  Cabinet Office

  This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/321970)

• 4 July 2020

  Government will respond to this petition

  This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.

• 1 June 2020

  Petition published

  This petition can now be signed.

  If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

  If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

  This petition will stay open until 1 December 2020.