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This project covers seven watchdogs which monitor the conduct of the executive. It makes suggestions for how they should be strengthened, and by how much.
Constitutional watchdogs are the guardians of the system for upholding standards. This project concerns seven constitutional watchdogs which monitor the conduct of the executive: the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, the Civil Service Commission, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL), the House of Lords Appointments Commission, the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests and the Registrar for Consultant Lobbyists.
A series of official and non-governmental reports have all agreed that these watchdogs need strengthening; but there is less agreement on how, or by how much, they should be strengthened. This is the gap which Trust in Public Life: Restoring the Role of Constitutional Watchdogs intends to fill.
The report argues that there is an urgent need to rebuild the system for upholding standards in public life. It sets out a range of strengthening measures, in detail, for implementation early in the next parliament. It says that action can be taken quickly to signal a fresh start by the use of prerogative powers, while legislation can follow to put the watchdogs on a statutory footing. That allows time to consult about their precise powers and functions, and about the structure and remit of a possible Ethics and Integrity Commission.
