Council of Europe praises UK for integrity in local government but urges it to go further

The report focused on the Greater London Authority and Kent County Council, which volunteered to take part in the evaluation.

GRECO said it had examined the institutional structures and regulatory frameworks for preventing corruption and promoting integrity, as well as their practical implementation both at national level and in the two local authorities selected.

It suggsested that it had observed a range of good practices at both the GLA and Kent.

“These include the regular review and updating of anti-corruption policy documents, open and collaborative information sharing; robust public procurement procedures; enforceable codes of conduct; well-developed policies and procedures on gifts and hospitality; the use of data matching to detect undeclared interests; comprehensive lobbying guidelines; whistleblowing policies with clearly designated contact points, and proactive publication and public consultation practices.”

However, GRECO went on to make six recommendations to the UK authorities. It called for:

• clearer and more effective sanctions for breaches of codes of conduct by elected officials;
• making the newly established local audit office fully operational;
• enhancing lobbying transparency;
• providing confidential integrity counselling for employees and increasing integrity training for councillors;
• legally formalising the obligation to publish gifts and hospitality received by councillors and
• ensuring that, when no gift or hospitality is received, this is explicitly referenced online.

The recommendations are addressed to both the national authorities and the authorities of the Greater London Authority and Kent County Council.

GRECO added that, in some areas, their effective implementation will “require close coordination between national and local authorities, in accordance with the country’s constitutional and institutional framework”.

GRECO has invited the authorities of the United Kingdom to submit a report on the measures taken to implement its recommendations by 31 December 2027.