In October 2016, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department for International Development. On 31 January 2018, he offered his resignation after arriving a minute too late for a question from Baroness Lister in the House of Lords, which had sat early that day. Lord Bates said that he was "thoroughly ashamed at not being in place", but his resignation surprised the House. Baroness Smith of Basildon, Labour leader in the Lords, said that an apology was all that was needed, and Prime Minister Theresa May refused Lord Bates’ resignation.