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Standards Board Conference 'Delivering the goods'

Date of speech	13 October 2008
Location	International Convention Centre, Birmingham
Event summary	Standards Board Conference

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Draft text of the speech - may differ from the delivered version.

Thank you Chair, and thank you Assembly for inviting me to speak here today. I'm delighted that one of the first of my major engagements in my new post involves an opportunity to speak with so many members of the local government community.

I was myself a councillor for 12 years, so like you all I have a great interest in, and first hand experience of, the work of local government. This experience has already proven useful, given that one of my very first ministerial responsibilities in my new post was an interesting Adjournment Debate on the new devolved conduct regime for local authority members.

I am very sorry, but I am unable to take part in the scheduled Q and A session, as I have to go back to London due to other Ministerial commitments. However, I am sure that the session will be very productive and that the remaining speakers are more than capable of answering your questions.

Those involved in the conduct regime are, like Premiership referees, not thanked enough, so I would like to begin by thanking you all for your hard work. I know that you have been working especially hard over the last year in preparing for, and then helping to deliver, the new devolved conduct regime. Devolution was a significant advance in the way the conduct regime works and, I hope you would agree, is to be considered a success. You have, indeed, delivered the goods and again I thank you.

And it is important that the conduct regime continues to be a success. I do not think it is an exaggeration to state that the conduct regime helps to underpin one of the foundations of a healthy democracy; trust in our elected representatives. Voters expect the councillors they voted for to represent their interests and to behave with honesty and integrity. This is a wholly reasonable expectation. But we should not, and do not, take for granted that the highest standards of conduct will always be followed. I can assure you that this Government recognises the importance of the promotion and maintenance of high standards of behaviour and recognises that the duties and obligations that go along with this are not to be taken lightly.

In this country we have high standards of probity, accountability and objectivity. These are not only natural expectations; they are enshrined in the conduct regime. We expect these high standards of behaviour from the many men and women who devote their time and energy to the service of their communities as councillors, we trust them to work on our behalf, trust them to represent our interests and trust them to behave appropriately while they are doing this.

I'm sure that you'd agree that the vast majority of councillors are motivated by a desire to do good, to make a positive difference to the communities they represent and to the wider community.

That said, we cannot ignore the fact that failings do occasionally occur and that there have been cases, albeit rare, where the conduct of local authority members has fallen short of the expectations placed upon them. Such misconduct, when it occurs, damages the community that the local authority members were elected to serve and also damages the wider reputation of government, undermining the public's trust and confidence in the democratic system as a whole.

That is why the work you do is so important. The conduct regime clearly demonstrates a commitment to meeting peoples' natural expectations of probity, accountability and objectivity. The practice of the conduct regime demonstrates that transgressions will not be tolerated. But, that regime must be proportionate, fair and functional.

Which is one of the reasons why the last twelve months has probably been the most important period for the conduct regime since it was introduced in 2001. The devolving of the conduct regime to local authority standards committees was an important step, meaning that councils now have the power to hold their members to account for their actions with a more locally-based conduct regime.

As part of this process we have seen the role of the Standards Board for England change, to that of a strategic regulator. The Standard Board's new role sees it monitoring the process, performance and practices of local authority standards committees, allowing it to provide training and guidance tailored to the emerging needs of the devolved conduct regime.

At the same time, there have been changes in the Standards Board itself. It has a new Chair, Bob Chilton, and a new Chief Executive, Glenys Stacey.

The new role of the Standards Board is complimentary to its core function; to promote and maintain high standards of conduct of local authority members in local government.

The document underpinning those high standards is the members' code of conduct itself. One of the successes of the conduct regime was the introduction last year of a new model code of conduct for local authority members. This code was a combination of the four different model codes of conduct that existed at the time; for local authorities, parish councils, national parks and police authorities. The 2007 model code combined these into a new, single code, coming into force in May of last year.

The 2007 model code provided a clearer, simpler and more proportionate, and here I emphasise the word proportionate, code for members.

It is the code of behaviour which local authority members agree to abide by, and by agreeing clearly demonstrate their support for the values enshrined within the code. This code, this statement of expectation of behaviour, not only lets the councillor know what is expected of him or her but is there for the protection of councillors from unreasonable expectations by the public, sending as it does a clear message about  what standards of behaviour the public can expect from their councillors.

On its introduction, we undertook to review the code after it had been operating for a suitable period. With the code now in place for over a year, we believe that this is the appropriate time to examine how well it has functioned in practice and to consider any revisions that might be required. A year on, we believe that the code has bedded in well and is working well, but we also believe that there are revisions to be made.

In particular, we believe that the code should be restructured, making it easier to interpret and clearer in its application. We are proposing that the code be divided into two sections; the first dealing with members' conduct when acting in an official capacity and reflecting what is in the current code, the second section dealing with members' conduct in their private lives.

This is not, let me reassure you, an Orwellian intrusion into the front rooms of councillors. Rather, we are proposing what I hope you will agree is the reasonable expectation that councillors will not engage in criminal behaviour, whether discharging their official functions as a councillor or in their private lives.

We are currently consulting on the proposed revisions to the code of conduct and the responses that we receive will help us shape the revised code. The closing date for responses to our consultation paper is Wednesday 24 December. Anyone who wishes to comment on our proposals should visit the Department's website at www.communities.gov.uk. Your authorities should also shortly be receiving hard copies of the consultation paper through the post. 

We consider the code to have been a success to date and with these revisions we consider it will continue to be successful in future. Indeed so successful has it been that in the same consultation we are seeking views on a model code of conduct for local authority employees, some of which, in its application to senior staff, borrows from the members' code.

The Government considers that a model code for local authority employees would provide employees of an authority with an effective framework within which to work, whilst also giving citizens confidence that an authority's staff are working on their behalf in an appropriate manner. Such a code would, by necessity, have a different implementation method than the members' code and we envisage that the code would become part of the terms and conditions of employment for a local authority employee.

There are innovations still to come this year. We will shortly be laying before Parliament the legislation that will allow local authorities to form joint standards committees, a development of the conduct regime that I know is keenly anticipated, as it will allow authorities to make the most not just of their own resources, but to share the resources of their neighbours. Truly, joined up government.

What I don't want is to see any part of the conduct regime either stopping councillors representing their communities effectively or being seen as a disincentive to becoming a councillor. What we must avoid at all costs is the conduct regime becoming a barrier preventing incumbent or potential councillors from achieving their full potential.

Indeed, were this to happen it would be contrary to everything this Government stands for in the field of democracy. In July of this year, my Department, of a week, published the White Paper 'Communities in control: real people, real power'. It set out our policies for empowering communities and empowering citizens. Along with proposals on access to information, having an influence and redress, were our proposals to encourage more people to serve their community by becoming councillors.

Not that there's anything wrong with the councillors we have at present, but I know that there are concerns that women, people from BAME backgrounds and younger councillors are under-represented. This Government is committed to ensuring that local representatives reflect the communities that they serve. This will lead to a fairer system with more effective representation and also encourage others to serve as councillors because they see role models from their own groups.

The White Paper began the process of making many of our empowerment policies a reality, not just the empowerment of communities but the empowerment of councillors that serve them. For instance, we want to ensure that councils are free to portray a positive image of councillors.

I do not think it would surprise anyone in this room if I remarked that there is a continuing concern about the media's treatment of councils and councillors. This is important. Voters and politicians trade in the currency of trust, it's that trust that the conduct regime is designed to preserve and that trust that you, who work with the conduct regime, play your part in maintaining and nurturing.

Maintenance of this trust is not made any easier by inaccurate and negative stories about politicians, policies, councils or councillors, particular in the media. This is not to say that those elected to public office should not be subject to public scrutiny or public comment. It's right that the media report events in the public interest, and this certainly includes fully reporting circumstances where those in public life fall short of the standards expected of them. The conduct regime plays a vital role in this, as it lets the public know what to expect and protects councillors from unreasonable accusation or expectation.

In addition, we recognise the need to support councils and councillors who want to get the message out about the achievements of the council and about the achievements of councillors, that's how you keep people informed about what's going on in their communities and that's how you get people interested in being a councillor. We recognise that there is confusion about how far councils, with council taxpayers' money, can go in publishing achievements - particularly when attributing achievements to individual elected politicians. That's why we'll be consulting shortly on the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity, to work towards removing that confusion.

I'd like to close by once again thanking the sponsors of this conference, the Standards Board, for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today. The Standards Board is there to support you, through guidance, training and even a helpline. I am sure they would not object to my encouraging you to make the most of them as a resource.

In closing, let me reiterate that a robust conduct regime, trusted by local authority members and those who vote for them alike is an essential part of supporting the trust in local government that makes local democracy function.

A locally based conduct regime, with local authorities responsible for holding their own members to account for their conduct, supported by the Standards Board for England is, we believe, the right approach to underpin a fair, functional, proportionate and effective conduct regime.

George Bernard Shaw once wrote that 'Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.'  I think that the people of this country deserve the very best. The conduct regime is how we deliver just that and you are at the centre of that conduct regime. I'd like to thank you for your work and for continuing to support democracy at its best.

Thank you.