21 January 2005
The Standards Board for England has hit back at radical proposals designed to transform the way it operates, claiming they could further erode public confidence in local government.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life, an independent advisory body, this week called for the Standards Board to be 'fundamentally transformed'. It recommended the board spent less time resolving petty complaints and focused on addressing serious allegations that threaten the reputation of local democracy.
Judgements on 'minor, vexatious and politically motivated complaints' should be made by local standards committees.
But the board itself has doubts that a local filtering system will be helpful. Standards Board chair Sir Anthony Holland said: 'There will be a real problem maintaining public confidence and trust if councils decide which of their own members should be investigated.
'And we do have considerable reservations as to the wisdom of change before the current local investigation arrangements have fully bedded down.'
The committee suggested boosting local confidence by ensuring that standards committees have a majority of independent members and are chaired by a person from outside the council.
Committee chair Sir Alistair Graham said: 'The Standards Board should take strategic responsibility rather than becoming a processing machine.'
The decision on whether to adopt the committee's recommendations rests with the government but Graham said he was confident they would be taken up.
The committee also examined probity within central government.
Four Whitehall departments came under fire from public appointments commissioner Dame Rennie Fritchie last year after it emerged that ministers were interfering with shortlists of candidates selected for appointment to public posts.
'The perception, after ten years of the Nolan rules, that cronyism is on the increase is a worrying finding from our research,' Graham said.
'We're not saying there are widespread improper processes but we do think there are major weaknesses in current arrangements.'
The committee's January 19 report recommended giving the commissioner extra powers to delay decisions, so that contentious appointments could be considered by Parliament.
Ministers should also lose their power to choose between candidates, delegating the final appointment decision to a selection panel.
PFjan2005
