This section of the manual has been updated to strengthen our anti-corruption policy and provide practical guidance on managing the risk of bribery. This update coincides with the enablement of UK Bribery Act enabled on 1 July 2011.
(I) Declaration of Interests
In undertaking or participating in any aspect of procurement or commercial arrangement, staff are required to declare any personal interest which may affect or be seen by others to affect that member of staff's impartiality in a matter relevant to his or her duties. In the first instance this declaration must be made to the Head of Procurement and may be referred to the Director of Finance and or the Executive Management Team (EMT). Whilst the above policy places the onus on the individual to declare any personal interest, in certain circumstances staff may be required to sign a formal written confirmation of NO INTEREST prior to undertaking his or her duties. This requirement will be at the discretion of the Director of Finance and Head of Procurement.
or
Where an employee or a close relative of an employee acts as a supplier or, when the aforementioned hold significant interest in a business which trades or has potential for trading with RoS, then the employee is required to declare all such interests to the EMT. Declarations must be in writing and copied to the Director of Finance and the Head of Procurement. It should be noted that approval from the EMT is required before such 'interested' parties of the type identified begin to trade with RoS.
(II) Inducements
It is an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 for those employed by contracting authorities in their official capacity corruptly to accept any gift or consideration as an inducement or regard for doing, or refraining from doing, anything or showing favour or disfavour to any person.
Under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1916, any money, gift or consideration received from a person or organisation holding or seeking to obtain a contract will be deemed by the courts to have been received corruptly unless proved to the contrary.
No employee shall accept, directly or otherwise, any inducement in whatever form, from either current or potential suppliers, their agents, or any individual acting as their agent.
If, as a consequence of actions taken, a member of staff unwittingly or otherwise gains a significant personal advantage (e.g. vouchers, free travel, gifts) whether it be through a suppliers' promotional offer or any other source, then this advantage and the circumstances surrounding it must be declared as appropriate to their line manager, the Head of Business Unit or the Managing Director, and recorded in the Register held in the Human Resources Department. Promotional merchandise such as pens, mouse mats, calendars and diaries with a value under £25 are not classed as 'significant' and you may accept inexpensive, token or promotional gifts or benefits up to the individual or cumulative value of £25. You should use the appropriate HR form to apply for acceptance of any other gift or benefit. For further details of this policy see Section 2.3.7a of the Staff Handbook
(III) Hospitality
Modest hospitality is an accepted courtesy of a business relationship. However, the recipient must not allow a position to develop whereby they might be influenced, or might be deemed by others to have been compromised, into taking a business decision. The frequency and scale of hospitality accepted should not be significantly greater than that likely to be provided by RoS on a reciprocal basis. For further details of this policy see Section 2.3.7c of the Staff Handbook
(IV) Confidentiality
The Terms and Conditions through which many of RoS’s suppliers trade with us are the result of local or national negotiations. Staff are given access to these and other official contract details on the clear understanding that confidentiality of such commercially sensitive information is strictly respected. Any request for such information by a third party under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA), should be dealt with through the appropriate FOISA process.
(V) Charitable Donations
RoS may wish to make donations to charity from time to time. Staff should be aware that the relevant Accountable Officer must be able and willing to defend such donations in terms of both propriety and value for money. Donations to an appropriate charity might be justified where they were proportionate and deemed to contribute to the achievement of organisational objectives e.g. the completion of the RoS Staff Survey. Giving away “savings” as a result of not sending Christmas cards - or sending electronic cards - would seem more problematic with regard to the proper use of public funds. The final decision must of course rest with the relevant Accountable Officer. It is therefore advisable that decisions are sought from the Accountable Officer on a case by case basis. Donations would normally be subject to the guidance in the Scottish Public Finance Manual on Gifts.
(VI) Bribery
There are four offences under the Bribery Act. These relate to:
- Requesting or receiving a bribe
- Offering or giving a bribe
- Bribing a foreign public official
- Failure by a company to prevent a bribe being paid on its behalf.
Individuals can be prosecuted for any of the first three offences.
An organisation can be also be prosecuted for any of these four offences, if it can be shown that a senior manager was the ‘directing mind and will’ behind the offence. As this may be difficult to prove, the new corporate offence of failing to prevent a bribe being paid on an organisations behalf has been introduced.
RoS will have a defence against the latter offence if it can show it has adequate anti-corruption policy and procedures in place. As a public sector organisation it is important that our policy and procedures are based on best practice and also designed to minimise the risk of damage to the reputation of our staff and our organisation.
- The Management Board will take full responsibility for our anti-corruption procedures through the EMT’s formal endorsement of this section of the manual.
- Our anti-corruption policy will be published both internally and externally as part of this manual.
- Our T&S policy will clearly state what categories of expenses will be reimbursed and Finance staff involved in the reimbursement of expenses, Procurement staff administering the use of GPC cards will be required to check for suspect claims/payments.
- Finance and Procurement staff will be looking for signs of possible corruption e.g. abnormal cash payments, pressure for payments to be made urgently, payments to unconnected countries, lavish gifts or expenses claims, bypassing normal procurement procedures e.g. tendering, lack of documentation to support decisions or illogical decisions to undertake projects or enter into contracts.
(VII) Reporting and Avoiding Bribery
Corruption is a serious risk to both the individual and the organisation and our Whistle Blowing policy supports the reporting of any concerns staff have about bribery and corruption. All reported incidents of bribery or attempted bribery should be reported to the Fraud Officer who will record and investigate them. The Fraud Officer will consider the appropriate action which may involve reporting the incident to the superior of the person offering the bribe, withdrawing from the project, publicising the reasons behind the withdrawal and reporting the incident to the Serious Fraud Office.
To reduce the possibility of fraud, RoS staff should be familiar with our policy and procedures. They should also make our suppliers, agents, and other potential commercial partners aware of our policies. Procurement undertake checks on supplier integrity as a routine part of our EU procurements.
In undertaking tenders for or delivering projects abroad (outside the EU), staff should be mindful that where agents, intermediaries or for example leads in a consortia are used in dealing with government agencies or business partners, due diligence should be undertaken to establish their probity. We must avoid guilt and/or reputational damage by association. Contracts should make it clear that payment or attempted payment of any bribe would be a material breach of the contract.
If undertaking work in a new country, staff should obtain advice on local laws, planning permissions, licence applications etc. The perceived level of corruption can also be checked using the Corruption Perceptions Index. In business dealings staff should explain that any offer or acceptance of a bribe exposes everyone to the risk of prosecution.
(VIII) Equality and the Public Sector Equality Duties
There is a range of equality legislation protecting people from discrimination on the grounds of race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. As of October 2010 the Equality Act brought together all these current areas of discrimination under the heading of ‘’protected characteristics’’. In addition, there is a public sector equality duty that require public authorities to take proactive steps to eliminate discrimination and harassment and to promote equality of opportunity with regard to ‘’protected characteristics’’ under the Equality Act. (Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012).
The ‘’protected characteristics’’ equality duties apply to public functions which are carried out through procurement as well as those carried out directly by a public authority. This means that a private or voluntary organisation must have due regard to the general duties relating to ‘’protected characteristics’’ when carrying out the function on behalf of a public authority.
Contracting authorities must comply with all relevant equality legislation. Where a contractor is carrying out a public function on behalf of a public authority, the legal liability for the duties in relation to that function remains with the public authority which contracts out the function.
The degree to which equality and diversity requirements are specified and incorporated within procurement documentation will vary according to the goods, services or works being purchased and should be assessed on a case by case basis. This will ensure that full consideration is given to the needs of, and the likely impact on, all users and others who will be affected by the contract.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission have produced guidance that assists public bodies to meet their obligations in respect of the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) This supports listed public authorities to meet the requirements of the Scottish Specific Duty to consider the award criteria and conditions in relation to public procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2012. This supports listed public authorities to meet the requirements of the Scottish Specific Duty to consider the award criteria and conditions in relation to public procurement,