The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) recognises the crucial importance of maintaining both the reputation of the Scottish Parliament and the confidence of Members, our employees, business partners and the people of Scotland.
The SPCB does not tolerate and is committed to the prevention of:
The SPCB will not work with others who do not share our zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption or our commitment to preventing such acts.
The SPCB complies with the Bribery Act 2010 in all its relevant activities in the UK and overseas.
The SPCB does not, and will not, offer, promise, give, request, agree to receive or accept any bribes or improper inducements for any purpose whatsoever, nor does it, or will it, tolerate, permit or engage in any attempts thereof. The SPCB does not, and will not, engage indirectly in or otherwise encourage bribery or corruption.
The SPCB is committed to ensuring that there is no perception that it may be engaging in acts of bribery or corruption.
The SPCB is committed to carrying out its activities fairly, honestly and transparently. It is committed to developing and maintaining a culture which does not tolerate, and which is not complacent about, the risks of bribery and corruption.
The aim of this policy is to make clear that the SPCB does not tolerate any form of bribery, corruption or other malpractice in the conduct of our own activities or in our dealings with others. It is also intended to demonstrate SPCB's commitment to implementing effective measures to prevent, monitor and eliminate such acts or the perception of such acts.
The SPCB recognises the Scottish Parliament’s place at the heart of public and political life in Scotland and the particular importance to us of maintaining the trust and confidence of the public, Members, employees, and business associates.
Our commitment is to a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and to a free and open culture in dealings between employees and all third parties with whom the SPCB engages. This policy sets out the responsibilities of the SPCB, its employees and associated persons in upholding this commitment.
Together with setting out our approach to bribery and corruption, this policy also provides guidance on how to recognise bribery and corruption issues and sets out a mechanism for raising concerns whenever they are known about or suspected.
This policy applies to all SPCB employees, and any persons performing services for or on behalf of the SPCB ("associated persons"), wherever they are located. This includes agency workers, seconded workers, volunteers, interns, agents, contractors, external consultants, third-party representatives, and business partners.
With the exception of the Presiding Officer and Members of the SPCB, who are also “associated persons” of the SPCB by virtue of their role under s.21 of the Scotland Act 1998, the policy does not apply to Members of the Scottish Parliament (“MSPs”) or to their employees.
This policy applies wherever work for, by or on behalf of the Scottish Parliament takes place, including overseas.
All SPCB employees and any other associated persons must familiarise themselves with the terms of this policy and comply with these terms, including any future updates that may be issued from time to time by the SPCB.
A requirement to comply with this policy and anti-bribery and corruption laws and regulations will be included in the specification of all contracts entered into with associated persons, including suppliers of goods or services. This policy does not form part of the contract of employment of any SPCB employees. We may amend this policy at any time.
SPCB employees are also reminded of their obligations under the Code of Conduct.
A bribe is an inducement or reward, financial or otherwise, for performance of a relevant function or activity which is illegal, unethical, a breach of trust or improper in any way. A relevant function or activity will include functions of a public nature, activities connected with a business, activities performed in the course of a person's employment or activities performed by or on behalf of a body of persons.
"Improper" performance will be constituted by performance (or non-performance) which breaches expectations of good faith, impartiality or any other expectation arising from the person performing the function or activity being in a position of trust.
Bribery includes offering, promising, giving, accepting, agreeing to receive or requesting a bribe. It does not matter if the recipient of the bribe is the person who improperly performs the relevant function or activity, or who requests, agrees to receive or accepts the bribe – this may be done by someone else through whom the recipient acts. The advantage of the bribe can also be for the benefit of someone other than the recipient.
Bribes can take the form of money, gifts, loans, fees, hospitality, services, discounts, the award of a contract, appointments to positions based other than on merit, charitable or political donations or other advantage or benefit. Bribes can flow to or from any person or company, whether a public or government official, official of a state-controlled industry, political party or a private person or company. For the purposes of the Bribery Act 2010 it does not matter whether the employee or associated person is situated in the UK or overseas. There is also no minimum value level for a bribe.
Bribes might be made to ensure that a person or company improperly performs duties or functions to gain any commercial, contractual, or regulatory advantage for the SPCB (for example, obtaining or maintaining SPCB business), or to gain any personal advantage, financial or otherwise, for the individual or anyone connected with that individual. It also constitutes a particular offence under the Bribery Act 2010 to bribe a foreign public official with the intention of influencing them in the performance of their functions to obtain or retain business or to gain an advantage in the conduct of business.
A foreign public official is an individual who (i) holds a legislative, administrative or judicial position of any kind (whether appointed or elected) of a country or territory outside the UK; (ii) exercises a public function for or on behalf of a country or territory outside the UK or for any public agency or public enterprise of that country or territory; or (iii) is an official or agent of a public international organisation.
A public international organisation is an organisation whose members are (i) countries or territories; (ii) governments of countries or territories; (iii) other public international organisations; or (iv) a mixture of any of the above.
Any third party whose characteristics indicate they may be a public official should be treated as a public official for the purposes of this policy. This includes employees of a company in which a state-entity owns a significant stake.
The SPCB may be prosecuted if it fails to prevent a bribery offence being committed by a person associated with it. It is a defence to this offence if the SPCB has adequate procedures in place designed to prevent associated persons from bribing. This policy is one of a number of procedures that the SPCB has in place to prevent bribery and corruption on the part of associated persons. Other measures include, for example, a risk assessment process to identify bribery concerns as discussed below.
All forms of bribery are prohibited and illegal. If you are unsure about whether a particular act constitutes bribery, you should raise the issue with the People Services office at the earliest possible opportunity.
You must not:
You should also not give, promise, offer, request, agree to receive or accept any payment or other advantage if there is a risk that this would be perceived as inducing or rewarding improper conduct or as improperly influencing a business decision of SPCB or any third party. In considering this, you should ask yourself whether an outside observer might perceive that the intention or effect of offering the advantage could be to induce or reward improper conduct or to improperly influence a business decision.
Any attempts to engage in conduct as outlined above are also prohibited under this policy.
These are hypothetical scenarios provided as a guide on forms of bribery and the list is not intended to be exhaustive. SPCB employees should adopt a common-sense approach – if something seems improper, it probably is.
It is important to understand that unlawful actions taken by SPCB employees or associated persons, in contravention of the Bribery Act 2010, may result in criminal liability for the SPCB for which it risks receiving an unlimited fine, in addition to serious reputational damage. Individuals also risk criminal liability where they commit an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 for which they could face up to 10 years' imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
This policy does not prohibit giving or accepting reasonable and appropriate gifts or hospitality to or from third parties. The SPCB may accept gifts which appear to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of, or in connection with, the discharge of its functions.
It might be appropriate, for example, to give or receive a gift or hospitality where it is for the purpose of building relationships or maintaining the Scottish Parliament’s image or reputation.
However, a gift or hospitality will not be appropriate if it is unduly lavish or extravagant or if it is, or could be seen as, an inducement or reward for any preferential treatment or business advantage (e.g., during contractual negotiations or a tender process) or if it is capable of influencing, or of being perceived as influencing, any business decision. It is prohibited to give or accept gifts or hospitality in these circumstances.
Gifts and hospitality must be of an appropriate type and value depending on the circumstances and taking account of the reason for the gift or hospitality. In considering whether a gift or hospitality is of appropriate value, it should be taken into account whether the gift or hospitality is given or received on a recurring basis.
You must not accept gifts or hospitality with an estimated value of £50 or more (including where the total value of the gifts and hospitality from the same source exceeds £50) without the express approval of your office head/team leader. Approval should be sought in line with the procedure set out in the “Acceptance of gifts and hospitality” section of the staff Code of Conduct.
Where approval is given, details of the gift or hospitality will be added to the central Register of Gifts and Hospitality kept by People Services.
Gifts must not include cash or cash equivalent (such as vouchers) or be given or received in secret.
Outgoing gifts must be given in the SPCB’s name, not the name of any individual employee, and must be approved through the appropriate procedures in advance. As noted at section 3 above, the approval procedure will assess whether the gift is "necessary or expedient" for the discharge of the SPCB's functions.
If you are in any doubt as to what constitutes reasonable and appropriate hospitality, you should discuss this with the People Services office.
All SPCB employees will receive training on this policy during the induction process.
Training is provided to other employees at appropriate intervals. Enhanced training may be provided to those colleagues most likely to be exposed to bribery or corruption risks.
The SPCB's zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption is communicated to all associated persons with whom it works at the establishment of our relationship with them, at which point a copy of this policy must be provided to them.
Any engagement with an associated person must be based on a written contract which must contain provisions requiring the associated person to comply with all relevant anti-bribery and corruption legislation and this policy, and to have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery and corruption. The SPCB will not engage with any associated person who does not agree to these terms.
The relationship of the SPCB with any associated person who is not a SPCB employee must be regularly monitored throughout its duration. Any concerns which arise must be raised promptly with the People Services office.
SPCB employees and associated persons conducting business on behalf of the SPCB outside the UK may be at greater risk of being exposed to bribery or unethical business conduct. SPCB employees and associated persons owe a duty to the SPCB to be extra vigilant when conducting international business.
The People Services office within the SPCB has overall responsibility for: (i) ensuring this policy complies with our legal and ethical obligations, (ii) ensuring that all SPCB employees comply with this policy's requirements and (iii) providing advice and assistance on the application of the policy.
All SPCB employees have responsibility for implementing this policy and for monitoring its use and effectiveness.
The SPCB keeps this policy, and its risk of exposure to bribery and corruption, under regular review. A thorough annual review of these matters is undertaken by the People Services office.
Before undertaking new activities or operations the SPCB will assess the risk of exposure to bribery or corruption and implement such controls to mitigate that risk as are appropriate.
Everyone is required to remain vigilant in preventing, detecting, and reporting bribery and corruption. If you believe or suspect that a breach of the law, this policy or any other applicable SPCB policy, procedure or guidance has occurred, or that it may occur in the future, you must report this via our Complaints procedures as soon as possible. Issues that should be reported include (but are not limited to):
Alternatively, you can report this confidentially using the procedure set out in our Public Interest Disclosure Policy.
The SPCB will support anyone who raises genuine concerns in good faith under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken, and no person will be subjected to detrimental treatment by the SPCB for doing so.
The SPCB will also not tolerate any attempt to retaliate against anyone who has made a notification in good faith. Any such retaliation is prohibited under this policy and will be taken seriously by the SPCB.
Further information in relation to the SPCB's management of good faith notifications can be found in the Public Interest Disclosure Policy.
All accounts, invoices, memoranda and other documents and records relating to dealings with third parties, such as members, suppliers and business contacts must be completed timeously, accurately and must record the business reason for any payments made to or by third parties.
SPCB employees must not make, approve or process any payment relating to the SPCB's business with the intention, understanding or suspicion that any part of the payment is to be used for any purpose other than that described by the records associated with the payment.
You must ensure all expense claims relating to hospitality, gifts or expenses incurred to third parties are submitted in accordance with the Scottish Parliament’s internal guidance on travel and expenses, available to staff via the Parliament intranet. The reason for the expenditure must be specifically recorded.
Every employee and associated person acting for, or on behalf of, the SPCB is responsible for maintaining the highest standards of business conduct. Any breach of this policy will not be tolerated and is likely to constitute a serious disciplinary, contractual, and criminal matter for the person or organisation concerned.
All allegations of a breach of this policy will be investigated in accordance with the SPCB’s disciplinary procedure. Sanctions, up to and including summary dismissal, may be applied in circumstances where misconduct on the part of an SPCB employee is found. Depending on the nature of the breach, it may also be a criminal matter for, and cause serious damage to the reputation and standing of, the SPCB as well as the individual themselves.
Any associated person acting for, or on behalf of, the SPCB who breaches the law or this policy is likely to have materially breached their contract and to have their engagement with SPCB terminated with immediate effect.
In addition, any concerns regarding breach of anti-bribery and corruption law or this policy may be referred by the SPCB to law enforcement and/or regulators.
Every person to whom this policy applies will be expected to cooperate to the fullest extent possible in any investigation into suspected breaches of this policy or any related processes or procedure.