The Civil Service Code & Impartiality

A friend asks you, as a civil servant, to share your personal view on the government's policy in your area on your public social media account. Which response would be MOST effective?

• APost a balanced view that gives the arguments on both sides in equal measure so that no political leaning can be inferred from it by anyone who reads it
• BPost your view but add a clear disclaimer that it is your personal opinion and does not represent the department or the government
• CPost your view anonymously so that it cannot be connected to your role in the department
• DDecline to post a political view publicly, explaining that political impartiality applies to civil servants online as well as at work✓

Answer: The Civil Service Code requires political impartiality, and the guidance on social media makes clear this extends to public online activity. A disclaimer, anonymity, or a 'balanced' post about your own policy area all risk compromising that impartiality.

A supplier you deal with professionally sends you a hamper at Christmas. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AAccept it without recording it, since the value of a hamper is too small to matter under the rules
• BAccept it, since a seasonal gift is a normal courtesy and refusing would damage the working relationship
• CDecline or return it and record the offer in the gifts and hospitality register, in line with departmental rules✓
• DAccept it and share it with the team, since a gift that benefits everyone cannot be seen as a personal inducement

Answer: Integrity means not accepting gifts that could be seen to influence you, and transparency means recording offers. Accepting it in any form without declaration, whether personally or for the team, risks a perceived conflict of interest.

Your minister asks you to include a statistic in a speech that you know has been superseded by a more recent, less favourable figure. Which response would be MOST effective?

• ARefuse to work on the speech until the minister agrees to use the current figure
• BInclude the statistic as instructed, since the minister is entitled to choose which figures to use in a speech and the responsibility is theirs
• CAdvise the minister that the figure is out of date, provide the current one, and explain the risk of using the old figure✓
• DInclude the statistic but add a footnote in the speech notes stating that a newer, less favourable figure has since been published

Answer: Honesty and objectivity require civil servants to give ministers accurate information and advise against misleading uses of it; ministers then decide. Complying silently, burying the correction, or refusing to work are all wrong responses.

You are asked by a senior official to alter the tone of an evaluation report so that a programme the department favours looks more successful than the evidence shows. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AMake the changes but keep a dated copy of the original report so that you can show what the evidence really said if the matter is ever challenged later
• BMake the changes requested, since senior officials are entitled to decide how the department presents its own work and the evaluation is the department's report
• CRefuse outright and tell colleagues across the directorate that the official asked you to falsify an evaluation report so that the programme would look better than it is
• DExplain that the report must reflect the evidence, offer to make the findings clearer and fairer, and if pressed, raise it through the Code's concerns process✓

Answer: Objectivity means basing advice and evidence on rigorous analysis, and the Code gives civil servants a route to raise concerns when asked to act against it. Complying, complying with a private record, or refusing in a way that spreads accusations all fall short.

A member of the public who is a candidate in a forthcoming local election asks you to attend their campaign event in your capacity as a civil servant. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AAttend, since supporting local democracy is part of the Civil Service's role in the community it serves and works alongside
• BAttend but make clear at the event that you are neutral and represent the department
• CDecline, since attending a campaign event in an official capacity would compromise political impartiality✓
• DAttend in your own time and simply avoid mentioning your job to anyone there

Answer: Civil servants must not take part in political activity in their official capacity, and lending the department's presence to a campaign event does exactly that. Attending with a disclaimer or as a private citizen still associates the role with the campaign.

You discover that a contract award decision was influenced by a colleague's undeclared friendship with the winning bidder's director. Which response would be MOST effective?

• ATake no action, since the decision has already been made and reopening it would delay the contract
• BInform the losing bidders so that they can challenge the award through the proper legal channels
• CReport the matter through the department's process for raising concerns, providing what you know factually✓
• DSpeak to the colleague privately and ask them to declare the relationship now so that the record is corrected

Answer: A possible breach of integrity in a procurement must be reported through the proper channels so it can be investigated. Handling it privately, letting it stand, or leaking it to bidders all bypass the process that exists for this purpose.

A journalist contacts you directly asking for internal figures about a policy's cost that have not been published. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AProvide the figures, since transparency is a Civil Service value and the public has a right to know how money is spent
• BProvide the figures off the record, so that the journalist reports accurately without attributing them to you
• CConfirm that the figures exist but say that you cannot share them, so that the journalist can make a Freedom of Information request
• DDecline to provide the information and refer the journalist to the press office, without confirming or denying the figures✓

Answer: Unpublished information is disclosed through authorised routes, and media contact goes through the press office. Sharing the figures on or off the record, or confirming their existence informally, all breach the Code's requirement to handle information properly.

You are working on a policy that you personally disagree with strongly. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AAsk to be moved to different work, since a civil servant cannot reasonably be expected to implement a policy they disagree with so strongly
• BImplement the policy at the minimum standard that is acceptable, since your level of effort should honestly reflect your view of the policy
• CImplement the policy but make your disagreement known to stakeholders so that they understand your position
• DGive objective advice and implement the policy professionally, raising any evidence-based concerns through the proper channels✓

Answer: The Code requires civil servants to serve the government of the day objectively and impartially whatever their personal views, while remaining free to raise evidence-based concerns internally. Opting out, undermining the policy externally, or giving less than full effort all breach that duty.