EIC progress – Letter to Prime Minister
In a letter to the Prime Minister, published today, the independent Ethics and Integrity Commission has set out its progress since October and programme of work for the year.
Building on the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s reputation for independent, evidence-based work, the Commission has outlined the work underway to deliver the EIC’s new, wider remit in the standards landscape.
The EIC’s first review will examine the public sector ombudsman system. The Terms of Reference for this review and a call for evidence are expected to be published next month. The Commission will welcome contributions from anyone with an interest in how public sector ombudsman schemes can better identify systemic issues and bring about improvements to our public services.
The Commission will also begin work to produce its first report on codes of conduct. This is in line with the planned forthcoming obligations of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill for public authorities. This Bill will require all public bodies to establish a professional duty of candour for staff, to be set out within a wider code of ethics based on the Principles of Public Life. The EIC’s work is intended to support public authorities to develop and embed codes of conduct into the culture and day to day work of their organisations.
EIC Chair, Doug Chalmers, said:
“We want to look at whether the powers the public sector ombudsman have, and the way they currently operate, enables them to pick up themes and highlight developing problems in our institutions. This review, along with our work on codes of conduct and their oversight mechanisms within public authorities, is intended to raise standards to drive better outcomes for citizens.”