Cabinet Office: The Propriety and Ethics Team

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• The Committee on Standards in Public Life
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Committee on Standards in Public Life

The Committee on Standards in Public Life is an independent committee. It is currently chaired by Sir Alistair Graham, and was set up in October 1994 under the chairmanship of Lord Nolan to examine concerns about standards of conduct in public office. Its remit was extended in November 1997 to cover the funding of political parties. The Committee is an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Cabinet Office reporting to the Prime Minister. The Cabinet Office conducted a Quinquennial Review [PDF document] of the Committee in 2000. The Quinquennial Review Report details the findings and conclusions of the review.

The Committee has conduct Nine inquiries into standards in public Life and is currently conducting its Tenth Inquiry “Getting the Balance Right: Implementing Standards in Public”. Further information about the work of the Committee and its reports can be obtained from visiting its website at www.public-standards.gov.uk.

Links to the Government and other responses to the Committee’s reports are set out below.

• The Government's response to the Committee's 1st report (Cm 2931, ISBN 0-10-129312-7) was published in July 1995. It is available to buy from the Stationery Office.
• The responses to the 2nd report from the various sectors were brought together, together with an update on actions following from the Committee's first report, in The Governance of Public Bodies: A Progress Report (Cm 3557, ISBN 0-10-135572-6), published in February 1997. It is available to buy from the Stationery Office.
• Government response to the Committee’s 3rd Report – Standards of Conduct in Local Government in England, Wales and Scotland
• Government response to the Committee’s 4th Report [PDF document] - Review of Standards of conduct in executive NDPBs, NHS Trusts and local public spending bodies [link to Word document]
• Government response to the Committee’s 5th Report - The Funding of Political Parties in the United Kingdom
• Government response to the Committee’s 6th Report - Reinforcing Standards
• Government response to Committee’s legal research [PDF document] study into personal liability in public service organisations
• House of Lords Debate (2 July 2001) in response to the Committee’s 7th Report - Standards of Conduct in the House of Lords
• Government response to the Committee’s 9th Report [PDF document] - Defining the Boundaries within the Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and the permanent Civil Service
• Government response to the Committee's 10th Report [PDF, 161KB] - Getting the Balance Right - Implementing Standards of Conduct in Public Life