15 June 2007
The department responsible for ensuring that Whitehall implements effective whistle-blowing systems has emerged as its own worst performer.
The Cabinet Office finished bottom of a league table of 'whistle-blowing good practice' compiled by the charity Public Concern at Work.
The PCW study, published on June 12, reveals a mixed picture of Whitehall when it comes to challenging poor practice or performance. It claims that civil servants are often unclear about how to express concerns and lodge complaints about wrongdoing.
Departments were judged against good practice criteria endorsed by the government and the independent Committee on Standards in Public Life. The Cabinet Office scored just three points out of a possible 28.
Other laggard departments include Communities and Local Government (six points) and the former Constitutional Affairs (nine). The devolved Scottish Executive (four) also performed badly.
PCW director Guy Dehn urged incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell to 'insist that the Cabinet Office practises what it preaches'.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (25) emerged as the organisation best placed to deal with whistle-blowing.
Among the examples of bad practice, PCW found that many departments exhibited a 'misplaced and counter-productive' desire 'that whistle-blowing concerns should be kept internal in all circumstances'.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: 'The Cabinet Office is committed to ensuring our employees have access to the appropriate information and guidance on whistle-blowing.'
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