Committee on Standards in
Public Life announces new inquiry into 'local leadership
and public trust'
COMMITTEE ON
STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE News Release (PN218) issued by COI News
Distribution Service. 10 November 2008
The Committee on
Standards in Public Life today announced that the subject of its
twelfth inquiry is to be 'Local Leadership and Public Trust:
Accountability and Transparency in London and Local Government'.
The inquiry will look at structures and models within local
government across the UK, and in London, to examine the way in
which decisions are made and scrutinised, how office holders are
held to account and whether the different models of local
government command public trust.
Announcing the inquiry, Sir Christopher Kelly, Chair of the
Committee, said:
"We are keen to look at the new structures put in place at
the start of the decade to see whether they have achieved their
goals of promoting better leadership, greater accountability,
raising standards and improving public trust. As well as looking
at the Mayoral system in London, we will be looking at the other
twelve directly elected Mayor models, the Cabinet system within
some local councils, and the Committee structure found in others,
to see how they work within the constitutional and ethical landscape.
"It seems to us that this is the right time to take a look
after eight years to see how decisions are made, scrutinised and
explained to people. We will want to assess how well local
government structures reflect, both in theory and in practice, the
Seven Principles of Public Life.
"Local government matters - it spends billions of pounds and
is responsible for so many of the local services required by all
of us. The Committee will want to explore whether the structures
are as good as they might be to ensure robust decision-making that
commands public confidence and trust."
The Committee will be publishing an issues and questions paper in
the next few weeks and will call for written evidence from
interested parties before holding a series of hearings across the
UK in the New Year. The Committee intend to publish their report
in Autumn 2009.
Notes to Editors
2. Information about the Committee and its work is available on
its website at http://www.public-standards.org.uk
3. The Committee on Standards in Public Life is an Advisory
Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) sponsored by the Cabinet
Office. The Chair and Members are appointed by the Prime Minister.
The Committee was established in October 1994 with the following
terms of reference: "To examine current concerns about
standards of conduct of all holders of public office, including
arrangements relating to financial and commercial activities, and
make recommendations as to any changes in present arrangements
which might be required to ensure the highest standards of
propriety in public life. Additional terms of reference were
announced on 12 November 1997: "To review issues in relation
to the funding of political parties, and to make recommendations
as to any changes in present arrangements."
4. The Committee believes that the Seven principles of Public
Life should apply to all in public service. The Seven Principles
are: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability,
openness, honesty and leadership.
5. The current members of
the Committee are: Sir Christopher Kelly KCB, (Chair), Lloyd
Clarke QPM, Oliver Heald MP, Baroness Maddock, Rt Hon Alun Michael
JP MP, Sir Derek Morris MA DPhil, Dr Elizabeth Vallance JP and Dr
Brian Woods-Scawen DL CBE.
Issued by:
The Committee on Standards in Public Life
35 Great Smith
Street
London
SW1P 3BQ
http://www.public-standards.gov.uk
Committee on Standards in Public Life
35 Great Smith
Street
London SW1P 3BQ