A new Ipsos qualitative study for the Committee on Standards in Public Life explores public and stakeholder views with regard to what ethical standards providers of publicly funded services should conform to, and how closely they relate to the Seven Principles of Public Life.

As public services are increasingly being delivered from those outside the public sector, the Committee wanted to test the expectations and assurance of ethical standards in the public service market.

Key findings from the research included that the public felt the same ethical standards should be upheld by any organisation providing public services regardless of sector and supported by codes of conduct; but commissioners rarely articulate ethical standards to providers explicitly during the contracting process. There was an emphasis on the need for dialogue between commissioners and providers to ensure standards were upheld, with some demand for punitive measures if ethical standards were breached. Commissioners also requested further help and guidance on how best to integrate ethical standards into contracts.

In response the Committee has drafted a report that makes a number of recommendations to Government to ensure that proportionate ethical standards are made explicit in the commissioning, contracting and monitoring arrangements for all those delivering public services. This can also be downloaded from the link on the right.

Technical details

Ipsos conducted the research in two stages:

• Stage one involved 15 in-depth telephone interviews with commissioners, providers and individuals from national representative organisations.
• Stage two involved six evening discussion groups with members of the general public, lasting 90 minutes, in three locations (Leeds, London, and Nottingham).