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CEP template 2012

already be present in organisations delivering these services, to prompt and promote ethical behaviour. This, taken together with an increased focus on personalisation and user-led definitions of quality, is what our research shows the public demands. Recommendations 1. The Cabinet Office should: • Adopt a strategic programme to reinforce the message that the Seven Principles of Public Life apply to any organisation delivering public services; and the frameworks required to support ethical standards • Ensure that ethical standards reflecting the Seven Principles of Public Life are addressed in contractual arrangements, with providers required to undertake that they have the structures and arrangements in place to support this • Ensure that high ethical standards are championed by Crown Representatives in their relationship with their strategic suppliers • Ensure that Crown Representatives provide specific advice to ministers on this aspect of their relationship with suppliers • Work collaboratively with the National Audit Office and HM Treasury to develop guidance on how value for money can be aligned with high ethical standards 2. Accounting officers should actively seek assurance that public money is being spent in accordance with the high ethical standards expected of all providers of public services and annually certify (as part of managing public money duties) that they have satisfied themselves about the adequacy of their organisation’s arrangements 3. Ethical standards should be the specific responsibility of one non-executive board member of government departmental boards and should be incorporated within the Committee of Public Accounts recommended departmental periodic reviews of performance regimes 4. Those directly involved in commissioning and contracting should always receive formal assurance by providers of their acceptance of the necessity of ethical standards in the delivery of public service. 5. Consider ethical awareness a professional commercial capability requirement for those commissioning, procuring or managing government contracts 6. The Crown Commercial Service working with Civil Service Learning and the Commissioning Academy should arrange training on ethical awareness and disseminate best practice on ethical standards E t h i c a l s t a n d a r d s f o r p r o v i d e r s o f p u b l i c s e r v i c e s Endnotes 1 See CPSL (Committee on Standards in Public Life), 2013. Ethical standards in public life, best practices and current threats. In: A. Robertson and R. Jones-Parry, eds. 2013. Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14. Cambridge: Nexus Strategic Partnerships, pp. 46–53. 2 The Committee on Standards in Public Life has a remit to examine standards of conduct of all holders of public office in the UK, including those involved in the delivery of public services. This was clarified in 2013 and confirms that the Seven Principles of Public Life, the basis of the public sector’s ethical standards framework, has application to all service providers whether in the public, private or voluntary sector. 3 In preparing the report, committee members met with representatives from the following government departments and organisations: Department of Health; Department for Education; Department for Communities and Local Government; Cabinet Office and Crown Commercial Service; Home Office; Ministry of Justice; Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs; Department of Work and Pensions; Department of Transport; Civil Service; Police and Crime Commissioners; London Borough of Barnet; Capita plc; Serco Group; and PricewaterhouseCoopers UK. 4 The Seven Principles were established in the committee’s first report in 1995; the accompanying descriptors were revised following a review in the 14th report, published in January 2013. The principles of public life apply to anyone who works as a public office holder, whether as elected representatives, stewards of public resources, or employed or involved in frontline service delivery. 5 See CPSL (Committee on Standards in Public Life), 2013. The ‘revolving door’ of employment. Strengthening Transparency Around Lobbying, pp. 30–36. References Worth, S. and Nwaodor, C., 2012. Do the public back more reform of public services? pdf Policy Exchange. Available at: www.policy exchange.org.uk/images/publications/do%20the%20public%20ba ck%20more%20reform%20of%20public%20services.pdf Accessed 24 November 2014. CBI (Confederation of British Industry), 2013. Licence to operate Winning trust in public service markets pdf CBI. Available at: www.cbi.org.uk/media/2350136/licence_to_operate_final.pdf Accessed 24 November 2014. CSPL (Committee on Standards in Public Life), 2012. Standards matter: A review of best practice in promoting good behaviour in public life pdf UK government. Available at: www.gov.uk/ government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228884 /8519.pdf Accessed 24 November 2014. CSPL (Committee on Standards in Public Life), 2004. Getting the balance right: Implementing standards of conduct in public life pdf UK government. Available at: www.gov.uk/government /uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/336897/10thFullRep ort.pdf Accessed 24 November 2014. Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 109


CEP template 2012
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