Zac Goldsmith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what arrangements are in place in his Department to manage potential conflicts of interest of civil servants in relation to their previous employment.

Claire Perry

There are a number of arrangements in place; including the Civil Service Code, which refers to an individual’s integrity in putting the obligations of public service above their own personal interests and forms part of the contractual relationship between a Civil Servant and their employer.

Contracts of employment issued to a new member of staff also refer to the subject of Conduct and conflict of interest:

‘As a Civil Servant you are required to conduct yourself in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Code, a copy of which is available within the Staff Handbook. It is essential that you are, and are seen to be, honest and impartial in the discharge of your duties. You must not allow your judgement or integrity to be compromised in fact or by reasonable implication. The detailed requirements governing the avoidance of conflicts of interest, the receipt of gifts and hospitality and the standards of conduct expected of you are set out in the Staff Handbook.’

Any Civil Servant who does not adhere to the Civil Service code is liable to disciplinary action including the possibility of dismissal.

In addition, applicants are required to declare previous employment on job applications, so recruiting line managers will be aware of potential conflicts of interest. If a role requires security clearance, then an additional independent check is conducted as part of the security checking process.