CODE OF CONDUCT FOR SPECIAL ADVISERS
1. As the Ministerial Code explains, the employment
of special advisers on the one hand adds a political dimension
to the advice available to Ministers, and on the other provides
Ministers with the direct advice of distinguished experts in their
professional field, while reinforcing the political neutrality
of the permanent Civil Service by distinguishing the source of
political advice and support (paragraph 50).
2. Special advisers are employed to help Ministers
on matters where the work of Government and the work of the Government
Party overlap and it would be inappropriate for permanent civil
servants to become involved. They are an additional resource for
the Minister providing advice from a standpoint that is more politically
committed and politically aware than would be available to a Minister
from the Civil Service.
3. The sorts of work a special adviser may do
if their Minister wants it are:
(i) reviewing papers
going to the Minister, drawing attention to any aspect which they
think has Party political implications, and ensuring that sensitive
political points are handled properly. They may give advice on
any aspect of departmental business, including giving advice to
their Minister when the latter is taking part in Party political
activities;
(ii) "devilling" for the Minister,
and checking facts and research findings from a Party political
viewpoint;
(iii) preparing speculative policy papers
which can generate long-term policy thinking within the Department,
including policies which reflect the political viewpoint of the
Minister's Party;
(iv) contributing to policy planning within
the Department, including ideas which extend the existing range
of options available to the Minister with a political viewpoint
in mind;
(v) liaising with the Party, to ensure that
the Department's own policy reviews and analysis take full advantage
of ideas from the Party, and encouraging presentational activities
by the Party which contribute to the Government's and Department's
objectives;
(vi) helping to brief Party MPs and officials
on issues of Government policy;
(vii) liaising with outside interest groups
including groups with a political allegiance to assist the Minister's
access to their contribution;
(viii) speechwriting and related research,
including adding Party political content to material prepared
by permanent civil servants;
(ix) representing the views of their Minister
to the media including a Party viewpoint, where they have been
authorised by the Minister to do so;
(x) providing expert advice as a specialist
in a particular field;
(xi) attending Party functions (although
they may not speak publicly at the Party Conference) and maintaining
contact with Party members;
(xii) taking part in policy reviews organised
by the Party, or officially in conjunction with it, for the purpose
of ensuring that those undertaking the review are fully aware
of the Government's views and their Minister's thinking and policy.
Status and conduct as temporary civil servants
4. Special advisers are temporary civil servants
appointed under Article 3 of the Civil Service Order in Council.
They are exempt from the general requirement that civil servants
should be appointed on merit and behave with political impartiality
and objectivity so that they may retain the confidence of future
governments of a different political complexion. They are otherwise
required to conduct themselves in accordance with the Civil Service
Code, attached at A. Their appointment ends at the end of the
Administration which appointed them.
5. Special Advisers should conduct themselves
with integrity and honesty. They should not deceive or knowingly
mislead Parliament or the public. They should not misuse their
official position or information acquired in the course of their
official duties to further their private interests or the private
interests of others. They should not receive benefits of any kind
which others might reasonably see as compromising their personal
judgement or integrity. They should not without authority disclose
official information which has been communicated in confidence
in Government or received in confidence from others. The principles
of public life set down by the Committee on Standards in Public
Life, attached at B, provide a framework for all public servants.
6. Special Advisers should not use official
resources for Party political activity. They are employed to serve
the objectives of the Government and the Department in which they
work. It is this which justifies their being paid from public
funds and being able to use public resources, and explains why
their participation in party politics is carefully limited. They
should act in a way which upholds the political impartiality of
civil servants and does not conflict with the Civil Service Code.
They should avoid anything which might reasonably lead to the
criticism that people paid from public funds are being used for
Party political purposes. They stand outside the departmental
hierarchy. They should not be responsible for budgets or for the
line management of permanent civil servants including their recruitment
and matters covered by their contract of employment such as their
appraisal, reward, discipline and promotion.
7. Article 3(3) of the Civil Service Order in
Council allows the Prime Minister to appoint up to three special
advisers in No.10 who are not subject to the general restriction
that their role is to provide advice to a Minister.
Contacts with the media
8. Special advisers are able to represent Ministers'
views on Government policy to the media with a degree of political
commitment that would not be possible for the permanent Civil
Service. Briefing on purely Party political matters should however
be handled by the Party machine.
9. All contacts with the news media should be
authorised by the appointing Minister and be conducted in accordance
with the Guidance on the Work of the Government Information
Service (GWGIS), issued on behalf of the Prime Minister. Departmental
Heads of Information are responsible for managing press and publicity
operations in their department, and should be kept informed of
Special Advisers' contacts with the news media not only to ensure
consistency of briefing, but also to ensure that contacts are
recorded. Heads of Information are the department's source of
advice on the GWGIS.
10. Special Advisers must not take public part
in political controversy whether in speeches or letters to the
Press, or in books, articles or leaflets; must observe discretion
and express comment with moderation, avoiding personal attacks;
and would not normally speak in public for their Minister or the
Department.
Relations with the Government Party
11. Special Advisers provide advice on the development
of Government policy and its presentation. It is in these two
areas of activity that Government and Party may overlap.
12. The Civil Service has no monopoly of policy
analysis and advice. The Government takes account of views from
many sources of which the Government Party is legitimately one.
Although public funds and resources must not be used to support
the contribution of such views, the Government may need to liaise
with the Party, as it does with others, to obtain a full and accurate
understanding of the Party's policy analysis and advice.
13. The Government needs to present its policies
and achievements to the public in order to aid understanding and
so maximise the effectiveness of its policies, and this is a legitimate
use of public funds and resources. It would be damaging to the
Government's objectives if the Party took a different approach
to that of the Government, and the Government therefore needs
to liaise with the Party to make sure that Party publicity is
factually accurate and consistent with Government policy. To secure
this consistency, the Government will also want to make sure that
Party MPs and officials are briefed on issues of Government policy.
14. In providing a channel of communication
in these areas of overlap, special advisers paid from public funds
have a legitimate role in support of the Government's interest,
which they can discharge with a degree of party political commitment
and association which would not be permissible for a permanent
civil servant. In all contacts with the Party, special advisers
must observe normal Civil Service rules on confidentiality unless
specifically authorised, in a particular instance, by their appointing
Minister.
15. Special advisers must not take part in the
work of the Party's national organisation; and although they may
continue, during Elections, to give specialist or political advice
to their Ministers they must be careful not to take any active
part in the campaign going beyond the provision of such advice.
16. Where a special adviser wishes to undertake
work for a political Party which does not arise out of government
business they may do this either in their own time, outside office
hours, or under a separate contract with the Party, working part-time
for the government. Detailed rules on their involvement in political
activities are set out below.
Involvement in politics in a private capacity:
national political activities
17. Special Advisers must not take part in national
political activities, which are: holding, in a party political
organisation, office which impinges wholly or mainly on party
politics in the field of Parliament, the Scottish Parliament,
the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly
or the European Parliament; speaking in public on matters of national
political controversy; expressing views on such matters in letters
to the Press, or in books, articles or leaflets; being announced
publicly as a candidate or prospective candidate for Parliament,
the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the
Northern Ireland Assembly or the European Parliament; and canvassing
on behalf of a candidate for the institutions or on behalf of
a political party.
18. In particular:
(i) if Special Advisers
are publicly identified as a candidate or prospective candidate
for Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly
for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly or the European Parliament,
either by adoption by a political party or in any other way, they
must resign their appointment[3];
(ii) if they wish to take part in a General,
European or by-election campaign, or to help in a Party headquarters
or research unit during such a campaign, they must first resign
their appointment. If they wish their appointment to carry on
during a campaign, they may continue to give specialist or political
advice to their Minister as before, but they must be careful not
to take any active part in the campaign going beyond the provision
of such advice. They should not, for example, take part in public
meetings.
(iii) if, with the approval of their Minister,
they wish to assist with other party political matters such as
a leadership campaign, they may do so while on paid or unpaid
leave or at times which do not interfere with their normal duties,
for example, out of office hours.
Involvement in politics in a private capacity:
local political activities
19. With the approval of their Minister, Special
Advisers may undertake, or continue to undertake, all forms of
local political activity, but not local activities in support
of national politics. They must comply with any conditions laid
down by their Department.
20. Local political activities are: candidature
for, or co-option to, local authorities; holding, in a party political
organisation, office impinging wholly or mainly on party politics
in the local field; speaking in public on matters of local political
controversy; expressing views on such matters in letters to the
Press, or in books, articles or leaflets; and canvassing on behalf
of candidates for election to local authorities or a political
organisation.
21. If Special Advisers take part in local political
activities, they must at all times observe discretion, take care
to express comment with moderation and avoid personal attacks.
In particular, if they serve on a local authority they must adhere
to the following points:
(i) they should
not speak publicly or in the Council, or vote, on matters for
which their Minister has responsibility;
(ii) they should not serve on any committee
considering such matters;
(iii) they should not take part in deputations
or other representations to Ministers;
(iv) they should declare an interest in
relation to any case or application which comes before the Council
in which their Department is involved;
(v) they should observe discretion in relation
to policies for which other Ministers are responsible, in order
to avoid causing them embarrassment;
(vi) they should not disclose to the Council
privileged information obtained in the course of their duties.
Complaints
22. Any civil servant who believes that the
action of a special adviser goes beyond that adviser's authority
or breaches the Civil Service Code should raise the matter immediately
with the Secretary of the Cabinet or the First Civil Service Commissioner,
directly or through a senior civil servant.
3 The Servants of the Crown (Parliamentary, European
Parliamentary, National Assembly for Wales, New Northern Ireland
Assembly and Scottish Parliament Candidature) Order 1999 states
that civil servants (apart from those in the "politically
free" group) must not issue an address to electors or in
any other manner publicly announce themselves or allow themselves
to be publicly announced as candidates or prospective candidates
for election to Parliament or the European Parliament. Therefore,
civil servants must resign from the Civil Service on their formal
adoption as a Parliamentary candidate or prospective candidate
by a political party. Back
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