Ministers will still be allowed to receive gifts and hospitality but must show good judgment and declare the value of anything they receive, according to an updated code of ministerial conduct. The revised code does not explicitly rule out the acceptance of gifts like the clothes and glasses received by Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves – although many of these were given before they entered office. The new rules bring declarations for ministers more in line with those for backbench MPs, with a monthly register of ministerial gifts and hospitality that will declare the value of anything accepted. Under the previous system, changed when the Conservatives were in power, ministers did not have to give the value of gifts or hospitality and the register was only updated a few times a year, a discrepancy Labour argued meant backbench MPs were under greater transparency obligations than ministers. The updated code of conduct also gives Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, the power to launch investigations into potential breaches of the ministerial code. Previously they had to be approved by the prime minister. In a foreword to the code, last updated under Rishi Sunak in December 2022, Starmer called the restoration of trust in politics “the great test of our era”. “The British people have lost faith in its ability to change their lives for the better,” he wrote. “For a long time, they have looked at the conduct of politicians in Westminster and not seen the high standards of public service they expect or deserve.” After castigating the Conservatives for poor standards in office, Starmer and his team faced their own scrutiny over the acceptance of gifts and hospitality such as tickets to football matches, including a series of donations from the wealthy Labour peer Waheed Alli. It emerged that Lord Alli gave Starmer £32,000 worth of work clothing and £2,435 worth of glasses, plus the use of his London penthouse, and clothes for Starmer’s wife, Victoria. Rayner received money for work clothes from Alli, while Reeves accepted money from another donor, Juliet Rosenfeld, which was used for clothes. In October, Starmer said he was repaying £6,000 in donations and hospitality received after he entered No 10, including Taylor Swift concert tickets, and that he would not accept anything else. The new code sets out that ministerial responsibilities might “require ministers to attend functions and events in a ministerial capacity, including those where hospitality may be offered”. It goes on: “However, it is a well established and recognised rule that ministers should not accept any gifts, hospitality or service which would, or might reasonably appear to, compromise their judgment or place them under an obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence their work in government.” This also applies to anything received by family members, it adds. “This is primarily a matter of judgment for ministers who are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in light of the code and for justifying their actions and conduct to parliament and the public.” The change to the powers of the adviser on ministerial standards follows several controversies under Boris Johnson. Magnus’s predecessor Christopher Geidt resigned from the role in June 2022 after saying he believed Johnson might have broken the ministerial code over the Partygate scandal. The previous incumbent, Alex Allan, quit in November 2020 after Johnson ignored his finding that Priti Patel, the then home secretary, had bullied civil servants.