The Code of Conduct
The Committee proposed:
18. We recommend that the general principles of
standards of conduct in public life, as set out in the Relevant
Authorities (General Principles) Order 2001, should be incorporated
into the Code of Conduct as this would provide greater context
for the Code itself and assist in interpretation.
The Government's response:
The Government accepts that there would be benefits
in incorporating the ten general principles of public life into
the code of conduct, or as an annex or preamble to it, since these
principles provide extra context for understanding the code. Following
its review of the code of conduct, the Standards Board has proposed
the inclusion of the principles as a preamble to the code. We
intend to make amendments to allow for the principles to be published
alongside the code.
The Committee proposed:
19. We agree with the Committee on Standards in
Public Life in their statement that "the principle that the
Code should support an organisational culture that encourages
the reporting of wrongdoing by others is at the heart of ensuring
high standards in public life".
The Government's response:
The Government appreciates the Committee's view that
the code should support the reporting of wrong-doing by members.
However, we also consider there is a need, as the Committee has
also accepted, to reduce the incidences of vexatious or trivial
complaints. Following its review of the code, the Standards Board
has proposed that the requirement in the code to report to the
Board any breach of the code by others should be deleted. They
take this view because of the encouragement some members feel
this provision gives to the reporting of trivial or vexatious
complaints. We intend to accept this proposal.
However, in order to support the encouragement of
a culture where members feel able to report cases where they have
serious and genuine allegations to make, we also agree with, and
will
implement, the Board's proposal for a specific provision
making it a breach of the code to seek to intimidate a complainant
or a witness. We believe that this will provide appropriate protection
to encourage the reporting of serious allegations of misconduct.
The Committee proposed:
20. There should be scope within Clause 7 of the
Code of Conduct for members to exercise judgement in distinguishing
between rumours and well-founded suspicions. The Code, and any
guidance produced on interpretation, should reflect this.
The Government's response:
The Government appreciates the Committee's concern
that where allegations are put to the Board they are well-founded,
and not based on rumour. As indicated in our response to the Committee's
19th recommendation, we have concluded that the requirement for
members to report to the Board any breach of the code by other
members should be deleted, in response to the concern by some
that this provision gives encouragement to the reporting of trivial
or vexatious complaints. Support for members who do wish to make
well-founded complaints will be provided by making it a breach
of the code to seek to intimidate a complainant or a witness.
The Committee proposed:
21. We do not support the proposal that knowingly
raising false allegations should be a specific breach of the Code
of Conduct.
The Government's response:
The Government agrees with the Committee's view that
a specific provision should not be added to the code to provide
that raising false allegations should be a breach of the code,
given the effect such a measure would be likely to have in discouraging
members from bringing forward substantive allegations.
The Committee proposed:
22. We recommend that Clause 7 be amended to reduce
its scope to include only complaints arising from members' activities
in public life.
The Government's response:
The Government believes that councillors should set
an example of leadership to their communities, and that they should
be expected to act lawfully even when they are not acting in their
role as members. We do not agree therefore that the code should
be amended to refer only to complaints arising from members' activities
in public life. Following its review of the code, the Standards
Board has, however, recommended that the current rules should
be amended to provide that certain behaviour outside official
duties should continue to be regulated, but that this should be
restricted only to matters that would be regarded as lawful. We
accept this proposal, since it would balance the need for members
to continue to set an example to their communities, and the need
to exclude from proscription actions outside of official duties
of which certain people might merely disapprove.
