Whistleblowing policies in Whitehall
12 June 2007
The Cabinet Office, which sets the standards for how public bodies behave, has been asked to urgently review its whistleblowing policy after it was rated the worst across Government departments in a survey conducted by Public Concern at Work. The review (released 12 June 2007) gives the Cabinet Office just three points out of a maximum twenty-eight. The top rating Department was Culture, Media and Sport with twenty five points, closely followed by the Department for International Development and the Department for Education and Skills.
Guy Dehn, Director of Public Concern at Work, says “If this was the Premiership, the Cabinet Office would be relegated and a top rating local authority would be taking its place next season. As there are no sanctions in Government for such a woeful performance, it is now down to incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Civil Service Chief Sir Gus O’Donnell to insist that the Cabinet Office practices what it preaches if it is to earn its place at the heart of government.”
PCaW observes there has long been a marked lack of willingness at the heart of Whitehall to embrace the Public Interest Disclosure Act, the whistleblowing law, that Parliament passed in the first light of new Labour. While the new Civil Service Code - the handy guide that tells civil servants how to behave - now includes a reference to the whistleblowing legislation, the review shows there is still a lack of coherence and comprehension at the heart of government about why officials should be encouraged to question and challenge wrongdoing. “The twentieth century culture that it was better to keep quiet whatever the risks to the public or ministers still holds strong across much of Whitehall,” says Mr Dehn.
To tackle this, Public Concern at Work say that the central guidance on whistleblowing in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance needs to be overhauled so that it provides accurate and helpful guidance to departments on the whistleblowing law and the new Civil Service Code. The charity also recommends that all Departments survey staff confidence in their whistleblowing arrangements and review how they are working in practice.