‘We Pledge,’ is Waveney District Council’s brand new campaign to
promote the importance of ethical standards in public life. It is
also calling on partners to join forces with them.
Waveney’s Standards Committee recognises the importance of high
ethical standards throughout the District and launched a ‘We
Pledge’ campaign in Local Democracy Week 2009, to get a range of
public bodies signed up to the Ten General Principles of Public
Life. The intention is to maintain trust and make residents of
Waveney aware of the standards it can expect from its
representatives. The Council made its pledge and committed to the
campaign at its meeting on 24 September.
The Ten General Principles of Public Life (see below) guide the
conduct of Councillors. They also underpin the
Code of Conduct which all Councillors
in Waveney, including Parish and Town Councillors, are bound
by.
The Principles are simple, coherent and general, which means they
can also be followed by other key partners, who are not obliged to
formally adhere to the Code of Conduct. The Standards Committee is
promoting them during visits to all of the Town and Parish
Councils within Waveney and will ask them to publicly sign up to
and promote the wider ‘We Pledge’ campaign.
Key partners such as those that form the Local Strategic
Partnership have already signed up, and the Council is asking
organisations who would like to make the pledge to join the growing
list.
The Campaign Image
Waveney’s Standards Committee contacted Lowestoft College Art and
Design department to see if students could assist in producing a
range of posters to raise awareness of the Ten Principles. From a
number of designs, two were selected to be displayed in Council
offices and public reception areas across the District and form the
central part of a wider ethical governance awareness
campaign.
The
winning posters and campaign strapline were
created by Arran North and will be displayed in Council offices
and public reception areas across the District. They also
feature photographs of local scenes taken by Sam Gee, a BA
(Hons) design student from UCS Lowestoft.
The Ten General Principles of Public Life
The Ten General Principles of Public Life guide the conduct of
Councillors. These principles have been adopted by the Council and
are contained within the Constitution:-
- Selflessness
-
- Members should serve only the public interest and should never
improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any
person;
- Honesty and Integrity
-
- Members should not place themselves in situations where their
honesty and integrity may be questioned, should not behave
improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such
behaviour;
- Objectivity
-
- Members should make decisions on merit, including when making
appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for
rewards or benefits;
- Accountability
-
- Members should be accountable to the public for their actions
and the manner in which they carry out their responsibilities, and
should co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate
to their particular office;
- Openness
-
- Members should be as open as possible about their actions and
those of their authority, and should be prepared to give reasons
for those actions;
- Personal Judgement
-
- Members may take account of the views of others, including
their political groups, but should reach their own conclusions on
the issues before them and act in accordance with those
conclusions;
- Respect for Others
-
- Members should promote equality by not discriminating
unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect,
regardless of their race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation
or disability. They should respect the impartiality and integrity
of the authority's statutory officers, and its other
employees;
- Duty to Uphold the Law
-
- Members should uphold the law and, on all occasions, act in
accordance with the trust that the public is entitled to place in
them;
- Stewardship
-
- Members should do whatever they are able to do, to ensure that
their authorities use their resources prudently and in accordance
with the law;
- Leadership
-
- Members should promote and support these principles by
leadership, and by example, and should always act in a way that
secures or preserves public confidence.