Hello, I’m Doug Chalmers, Chair of the new independent Ethics and Integrity Commission.
There are Ethics and integrity Commissions across the world with varying remits. Our government has chosen to establish this one by building and expanding on the work of the previous independent Committee on Standards in Public Life.
That committee set out the Principles of Public Life over 30 years ago.
Honesty, Objectivity, Openness, Selflessness, Integrity, Accountability and Leadership.
We have a great tradition of public service in this country. The Principles articulate what we expect from those who serve the public, whether they are appointed or elected.
The new Commission will build on the independent evidence based work previously done by the Committee on standards in public life, as well as taking on the new responsibilities of reporting to the Prime Minister every year on the health of the standards system as a whole and advising public bodies on their codes of conduct.
Like its predecessor, the Commission will not investigate or intervene in individual cases but we will be convening regular meetings with those leading standards bodies to ensure we have a good understanding of current issues and concerns, so that we are able to recommend any running repairs to our standards landscape, ensuring that it remains fit for the challenges of day and tomorrow.
As we start our new role as the EIC, the members and I are proud to play our part in ensuring that high ethical standards are kept front and centre in our public life.