Address Seven Principles of Public Life in contracts, says standards watchdog

The Cabinet Office should ensure that ethical standards reflecting the Seven Principles of Public Life are addressed in contractual arrangements with those who deliver public services, the Committee on Standards in Public Life has said.

In a report, Ethical standards for providers of public services, the Committee also suggested that providers should be required to undertake that they have the structures and arrangements in place to support this.

Other recommendations included that the Cabinet Office should adopt a strategic programme to reinforce both the message that the Seven Principles of Public Life applied to any organisation delivering public services, and the frameworks required to support ethical standards.

The CSPL highlighted a clarification by the Government last year of its terms of reference that meant its remit to examine standards of conduct of all holders of public office encompassed all those involved in the delivery of public services.

“This confirms that the Seven Principles of Public Life, the basis of the ethical standards framework for those operating in the public sector, has application to all those delivering public services whether they are public sector providers or third-party providers from the private or voluntary sector,” it said.

However, it claimed that – with more and more public services being outsourced or managed through public-private partnerships – those who operated in the private or voluntary sectors might not be aware of the Seven Principles or – even if they were – consider that they were applicable to them.

“Nor can awareness of the ethical standards framework for public services be taken for granted as the notion of a lifetime career in public service diminishes and the movement of office holders between the public and private sectors increases,” the report said.

The CSPL said recent examples of poor performance by major private sector providers had – in addition to raising cost, competition and value for money considerations – highlighted the importance of behaving ethically in the delivery of public services.

Having conducted research, the Committee said it could be confident that:

  • the public wanted common ethical standards across all provider types regardless of sector, supported by a code of conduct;
  • “how” the service was delivered was as important to the public as “what” was delivered, with a focus on personalisation and user-led definition of quality;
  • public and stakeholder views of what should constitute ethical standards were broadly in line with the Seven Principles of Public Life;
  • commissioners expected providers to conform to ethical standards but rarely explicitly articulated this;
  • commissioners wanted guidance on how to embed ethical standards in the commissioning and procurement process.

“What our research clearly shows is that the public care about ‘how’ public services are delivered and want common ethical standards to apply regardless of provider type,” the Committee said. “This is an issue of trust, confidence and accountability.”

The CSPL said the Government should make explicit the frameworks required to support the ethical standards captured by the Seven Principles.

“It is evident from our research that currently there are no consistent structures or arrangements in place to actively promote the right ethical culture and behaviours,” it claimed.

“We are concerned to see high ethical standards proportionately addressed within existing contractual and monitoring arrangements, as part of the process for securing the regularity and propriety of public services.”

THE CSPL RECOMMENDATIONS IN FULL

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; and
  • 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.

The report also recommends that:

  • accounting officers 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;
  • ethical standards should be the specific responsibility of one non-executive board member of Government Departmental boards;
  • ethical standards should be incorporated within the Committee of Public Accounts recommended Departmental periodic reviews of performance regimes;
  • 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.

The Cabinet Office and departments should consider ethical awareness a professional commercial capability requirement for those commissioning, procuring or managing government contracts.

The report also said the Crown Commercial Service should, working with Civil Service Learning and the Commissioning Academy, arrange training on ethical awareness and disseminate best practice on ethical standards.

Source: Ethical standards for providers of public services by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.