This report by the Commons Select Committee on Standards and Privileges presents their observations on the recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life (also known as the Wicks Committee) published in November 2002 (Cm. 5663, ISBN 0101566328). It concluded that standards of conduct in the House of Commons were generally high but also made 27 recommendations designed to improve the system of regulation, including the role and appointment of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The Select Committee on Standards and Privileges state their agreement with the vast majority of these recommendations, and where their opinion differs, alternative suggestions are made.
The Committee for Standards in Public Life felt that the time was right to undertake a review of the key lessons that have been learnt since the Nolan Committee's first report (ISBN 9780101285025) was published in 1995 about how to improve ethical standards in public life - to stand back and reflect on what has been achieved and what still needs to be done. The report argues that much of the basic infrastructure to improve standards is now in place. Statements of key principles and codes of conduct have been adopted by most public bodies, new regulators have been created or had their existing remits clarified, and awareness of principles such as integrity, accountability and openness has increased considerably. The Committee believes standards of behaviour in many areas of public life have improved. But the Committee finds it disturbing that concerns continue to be raised about the integrity of so many of the country's key institutions or those within them; and the evidence of the last few years and months suggests that there is still much to do before the high standards in public life to which we all aspire are fully internalised in the cultures of all our public institutions. The report concludes that the need now is not for more principles, codes or regulators but rather for the existing arrangements to be more consistently and actively implemented.
The Committees 10th report examines the administrative procedures which have arisen out of the recommendations made by the Committee since its creation a decade ago, and considers whether the regulatory regimes established to govern public standards are effective, proportional and not excessive in their operation. It focuses on three key areas of: appointments to public bodies (other than the civil service); the management and enforcement of Codes of Conduct, including declarations of interest across local government, the NHS and other public bodies; and whether the Seven Principles of Public Life are being embedded into organisational culture in a meaningful way, including the appropriate use of training and development. The report highlights the issues of public trust, governance and the need for strategic regulation to avoid the imposition of unnecessary regulatory burdens; and makes 38 recommendations to achieve the desired outcome of the highest standards of propriety in public life.
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