26 March 2025The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has published its latest report, ‘Recognising and Responding to Early Warning Signs in Public Sector Bodies’. Accompanied by an open letter to public sector leaders, the report aims to assist public bodies reflect on how they can best equip their staff to identify and resolve problems or issues that might get in the way of delivering the core purpose of their organisation.
SLCC actively contributed to the shaping of this report, which sets out ‘20 points for reflection’ covering key areas such as:
- Building accountable organisations
- Identifying and assessing risks
- Speaking up
- Development and performance management
- Public scrutiny
- Learning lessons
- Board scrutiny
Although primarily aimed at larger public bodies, the report offers valuable insights for all public sector organisations – the report includes quotations from both SLCC and the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). Rob Smith, SLCC Chief Executive, also attended a CSPL Q&A meeting in Westminster yesterday, where discussions focussed on why people don’t speak out about their concerns, and what organisations and their leaders can do to facilitate them doing so.
The report follows a wide-ranging consultation ‘Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for Local Authorities in England’ conducted in early 2024. SLCC played an active role in this consultation by gathering member feedback through a survey, which informed our response. You can access our full submission to the consultation here.
You can read the full CSPL report and open letter on their website here.
