BLOG: Ruth Dombey OBE on trust, local government, and codes of conduct

I was a councillor for 24 years (2002-26) and a council leader for 12 of those years. So it  worries me deeply to see recent polling which shows that trust in politicians and political parties in the UK is amongst the lowest in Western Europe – and has been for some time.

Results from the IPSOS veracity index show that trust in the veracity of local councillors is down to 30%. And it doesn’t make me feel any better to hear that trust in MPs is a mere 15%.

We have a problem.

I have no doubt that some of this distrust stems from the perception of current poor standards in public life.

There are nearly 17,000 councillors serving on principal councils in England and for many people, these are their most visible politicians, their elected representatives with whom they are most likely to interact.

Councillors and councils are the shop window for democracy and politics and their conduct matters for people’s perceptions. It is right that they should be held to the highest standards while fulfilling their role.

So it was a real pleasure to be asked to attend the recent conference of the Association of Democratic Services Officers and have a discussion about those standards and what they mean for the people working on the front line to uphold them.

Everyone agrees that the vast majority of councillors and council officers act with the best of intentions and consistently display high standards of integrity, honesty and transparency. Sadly it is the poor behaviour of a very small number that can impact public trust across the whole tier of government – and this is especially the case when the current standards system does not always help councils address these issues adequately.

The over 200 council officers in the audience agreed that we need change. Many of them will be responding to the EIC’s Call for Evidence to help us produce non-statutory guidance to assist public authorities to produce, embed and review a code of conduct which meets the requirements under the soon to be enacted Public Office (Accountability) Bill (often referred to as the Hillsborough Law). This will be an important way of boosting public trust across the sector.

As the Bill moves closer to achieving Royal Assent, the government has asked the EIC to establish ourselves as a centre of excellence on ethical codes of conduct. We cannot overstate the importance of this legislation because it is about protecting the public. The aim is to mitigate and ideally avoid the sort of failings that have had such a devastating impact on the lives of so many in recent years – the Post Office Horizon scandal, the Infected Blood scandal, Windrush, Grenfell, Hillsborough and many more.

These codes are most effective when those who will have to live by them are involved in their formation so that these high standards of ethical conduct are integrated into the culture of our organisations.

We all have a role to play in rebuilding public trust in our democratic institutions and the people who serve them.

Ruth Dombey OBE