Watchdog calls for updated, strengthened structures for maintaining standards

There remains an urgent need to update and strengthen the structures in place in both central and local government for upholding standards, the Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has said.

In a blog published last week (19 December), Lord Jonathan Evans said public standards issues had “continued to cause concern this year”.

He added that although it could be argued that public standards structures had encountered – “and mostly withstood” - a great deal of challenge, he believed there remained a need to update and strengthen them.

The CSPL chair noted that the committee’s report on local government standards would be four years old in January.

He said: “The recommendations were well evidenced and supported by the sector, thanks to extensive input from local councillors, officers, independent persons and the public who gave us their views.

“The Committee has no remit to consider individual cases, but we continue to receive impassioned pleas from people caught up in local standards issues who feel the system is wholly inadequate. Democratic accountability via the ballot box is insufficient on its own; our system relies on checks and balances in between elections to deal with serious cases and maintain standards.”

Lord Evans described the limited government response to the report as “regrettable”. He added: “We hope that our suggested reforms can be looked at with fresh eyes.” 

The CSPL chair also highlighted its ‘Upholding Standards in Public Life’ (November 2021) which recommended stronger rules, greater independence and a better compliance culture for central government.

He said the government had recently said it intended to respond to the CSPL report by next summer. “I welcome the fact that serious thought is being given to reforms but am concerned that eighteen months will have been lost.”

Lord Evans said: “Proactive and ongoing attention to standards will always be necessary to ensure the systems and processes are able to meet the challenges faced today and while it is understandable that major events can overtake, we can ill afford another scandal with the subsequent knock to public trust.”

The CSPL chair said the watchdog would be publishing its report on Leading in Practice in January. This report is intended to share how a range of organisations, sometimes following a scandal or problem, have sought to inspire and support ethical behaviour.