Upholders of Civil Service values

Best practice checklist of actions for departments to promote the values in the Code in areas of:

recruitment
induction
training
staff management/guidance
evaluation
communications

Commissioners will:

refer to the Code in tasks and seminars
publicise (and anonymise) approaches made to them discuss issues in Linked Commissioners meetings with Permanent Secretaries/Agency Chief Executives

A new Civil Service Code was published in June 2006 (see here)

Commissioners, the Cabinet Office and Permanent Secretaries from five departments met to consider how best to promote the core values set out in the Code: impartiality, objectivity, integrity and honesty. These values have helped to make our Civil Service the best in the world.

Action expected for implementation from the summer of 2007 includes a best practice checklist of actions for departments to take to promote the values in the Code in:

recruitment – through recruitment literature;
induction – ensuring that a copy of the Code is included in joining instructions, referred to in all written contracts and built into the induction progremmes;
training – ensuring that the Code is built into general management training provided by departments;
staff management/guidance – ensuring that the standards in the Code are integrated into departmental management codes and guidance;
strategy and evaluation – maintaining a strategy for upholding and promoting Code values, reviewing and assessing current arrangements, and monitoring the formal raising of issues and appeals under the Code;
communications – ensuring that the Code and its values are integrated clearly within departmental values and mission statements.

The Commissioners will consider with the Cabinet Office how to publicise further the system for appeals under the Code. Commissioners will also play their part by referring to the Code in talks and seminars and by publicising (and anonymising) approaches made to them; and Linked Commissioners will discuss Code issues during their regular meetings with Permanent Secretaries and Agency Chief Executives.

We were delighted at the Prime Minister's announcement to the House of Commons on 3 July 2007 of his intention to enshrine the core values of the Civil Service in legislation