Outgoing chair of standards watchdog fires warning over local government standards, abuse of those in public life

There is “still a major problem” on local government standards, the outgoing chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has said at the end of his five-year term.

In a valedictory speech at the Institute for Government this week, Lord Evans of Weardale said: “We were very disappointed that the government took three years to respond to our 2019 report [Local Government Ethical Standards] and then rejected our recommendations. We hope that our pragmatic reforms that we recommended, for which there is widespread support in the sector, can be looked at with fresh eyes.

“Whilst we welcome the Local Government Association’s model code of conduct, members of the public still have no redress when there are standards failures at a local level.”

In his speech Lord Evans considered how the standards landscape has changed, the gaps in the system, and how he thinks public standards need to be strengthened in the future.

He suggested that the Nolan Principles had “stood the test of time”, but warned that “the polarised and unstable nature of British politics in recent years has placed them under great pressure”.

Lord Evans added: “Our political institutions, as well as our standards bodies and structures, have faced great challenge.”

Turning to the future, the CSPL chair identified some immediate problems that needed to be solved. He said:

• The government system for ensuring compliance with standards is "very weak and needs overhaul. The priority that is given to this across government departments is low and this opens a door to opacity and potentially corruption.”
• Alongside proper transparency and accountability, is the need to develop a culture where people are comfortable discussing the ethical dimension of their work and the standards of conduct expected in their organisation. “An organisation where the values are front and centre and underpin how people go about their work, helps delivery of public services because morale is high and people are comfortable speaking up, so risks are spotted before they escalate and people can find better ways of doing things.”
• It is important that there are consequences if standards are not adhered to. “If there is an investigation and then consequences in a timely manner where appropriate, that’s a success. That is true for the public and private sector and we need to look not just at outcomes but how they are achieved - the how is often as important as the what.”

Lord Evans suggested, however, that perhaps the most serious problem is around the abuse and intimidation of those in public life.

“We first looked at the impact of this back in 2017 at the request of Theresa May, the then Prime Minister. There has been some progress in some areas - imprints required from November on digital political campaign materials, passing of the online safety bill, and so on, but intimidation across public life remains a big issue,” he warned.

“ It is hugely damaging to democracy and is a major factor in putting people off serving in public roles. It is completely unacceptable that individuals and, in many cases, their families, should be subject to threats and abuse for doing their job. And we’ve seen examples of that reported in the last week. And I’m not just talking about national politicians, but many others holding public roles - councillors, doctors, teachers.”

Lord Evans continued: “We have complex problems to solve as a society. We need to be able to debate and disagree with each other. If intimidation and threats cause talented people to feel they have to leave public life (and that is happening), or deter good people from considering playing their part by standing as a councillor or a local MP, or applying for a public appointment, we are all losers.

“In conclusion, there is no room for complacency. There are still gaps in the system, and I hope the government and others will look at those and maintain a dialogue on what we can do to drive high standards.”

A transcript of Lord Evans’ speech can be read here.