Friday 11 November 2011

Civil Service Code of Ethics - worth the paper it is written on?

I stumbled across this today on a Goverment website:
The Civil Service Code, first published in 1996, sets out the core Civil Service values and the standards of behaviour expected of all civil servants in upholding these values.
  • Integrity – putting the obligations of public service above personal interests
  • Honesty – being truthful and open
  • Objectivity – basing advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence
  • Impartiality – acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving governments of different political parties
I wonder how many civil servants (and by implication politicians) have a) read it and b) give a toss?  I am thinking particularly of those associated with ESA/WCA etc. where patently none of these apparently preciously held values apply.

When outsourcing, particularly when the business partner has direct contact with the end user, it is de riguer to demand identical standards from the service provider, so this all applies to Atos too.

There is clearly an internal and external problem monotoring compliance!!!

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