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Scottish Ministerial Code
5. MINISTERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS
Ministers and the Civil Service
5.1 Ministers have a duty to give fair consideration and due weight to informed and impartial advice from civil servants, as well as to other considerations and advice, in reaching decisions; a duty to uphold the political impartiality of the Civil Service, and not to ask civil servants to act in any way which would conflict with the Civil Service Code; a duty to ensure that influence over appointments is not abused for partisan purposes; and a duty to observe the obligations of a good employer with regard to the terms and conditions of those who serve them. Civil servants should not be asked to engage in activities likely to call into question their political impartiality, or to give rise to the criticism that people paid from public funds are being used for party political purposes.
The Role of the Accountable Officer
5.2 Sections 14 and 15 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 make provision for the appointment of the Permanent Secretary as Principal Accountable Office (PAO) for the Scottish Administration and specifies the Permanent Secretary's functions as such. These include designating Accountable Officers for such parts of the Scottish Administration as the Permanent Secretary may specify and for certain other bodies and office-holders whose accounts are subject to audit by the Auditor General for Scotland.
5.3 The essence of the Accountable Officer's role is a personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which he or she is responsible; for keeping proper accounts; for the avoidance of waste and extravagance; and for the efficient and effective use of resources. Accountable Officers normally answer personally to the Audit Committee of the Parliament on matters relating to the use of resources and conduct of their Department or Agency, within the framework of Ministerial accountability to the Parliament. The PAO has overall responsibility for the propriety and regularity of all expenditure by the Executive, but would only be expected to answer personally to the Audit Committee on matters that affected more than one Department or Agency or were otherwise of an exceptional nature.
5.4 Accountable Officers have a particular responsibility to see that appropriate advice is tendered to Ministers on all matters of financial propriety and regularity and, more broadly, in relation to the wider considerations of prudent and economical administration. This includes appropriate advice on risk management, value for money, sustainable development, efficiency and effectiveness, and the duty of Best Value. If a Minister is contemplating a course of action which would involve a transaction which the Accountable Officer considers would breach the requirements of propriety or regularity, the Accountable Officer must set out in writing his or her objection to the proposal, the reasons for the objection and his or her duty to inform the Auditor General for Scotland should the advice be overruled. If the Minister decides nonetheless to proceed, the Accountable Officer must seek a written instruction to take the action in question and must send the relevant papers to the Auditor General for Scotland and to the Clerk to the Audit Committee. A similar procedure applies where the Accountable Officer has concerns as regards the value for money of a proposed course of action. The procedure enables the Audit Committee to see that the Accountable Officer does not bear personal responsibility for the actions concerned.
5.5 The role of Accountable Officer is described in greater detail in the memorandum given to Accountable Officers on appointment.
Civil Servants and Party Conferences
5.6 Ministers should not ask civil servants to attend, still less take part in, Party Conferences or meetings of policy or subject groups of any of the Parliamentary parties. It is an established principle in the public service that civil servants in their official capacity should not accept invitations to conferences convened by, or under the aegis of, party political organisations. The situation is, of course, different when Ministers require officials to be in attendance at party political events in order to enable the Minister to carry out urgent official business unconnected with the event. An exception to this rule is made for Special Advisers who, under the terms of their contracts, may attend Party functions, including the annual Party Conference (but they may not speak publicly at the conference) and maintain contact with Party members. Further guidance is available in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance Volume 2 ( www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/guidance/.
5.7 If a Minister wishes to have a brief for a party political occasion to explain Executive policies or actions, there is no reason why this should not be provided. It cannot however contain material which could be construed as designed to promote one Party's line or to anticipate criticisms from other Parties.
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