Commitment title ... The changes that have already been introduced will be reviewed as part of the wider ... This is a f
OGP UK National Action Plan 2013-15 Commitment progress update Commitment title Whistleblowing Lead department(s)
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Civil society organisation(s) involved in implementation to date
Public Concern at Work, Transparency International UK
Report date
31 January 2015
Overall commitment status
In progress
Overall progress against commitment The government is on track to meet these commitments on time. We received a good response to the call for evidence and work is now underway for establishing a robust analysis framework, to evaluate the measures introduced through the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Civil society welcomes these proposals but comments that the government has not gone as far as they could in strengthening the protection for whistleblowers in the Public Interest Disclosure Act. Progress against milestones/activities 1.
The changes that have already been introduced will be reviewed as part of the wider evaluation strategy for the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. This is a five year plan and will draw conclusions by 2018.
On track
Work to evaluate the implementation of measures through the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 is ongoing, with plans now being drawn up on the most effective way to evaluate the whistleblowing provisions. 2.
The call for evidence closed on 1 November 2013. The UK government will then consider the responses, along with the report from the Whistleblowing Commission, supported by Public Concern at Work to identify solutions.
Completed
The government response to the call for evidence was published on 25 June 2014. In this response, there were a number of recommendations setting out how government intends to address issues and concerns raised through the call for evidence. 3.
Improved Guidance for individuals (by December 2014)
Behind schedule
Working group meetings have been concluded and drafted guidance is being cleared by BIS legal. The guidance will then be sent
OGP UK National Action Plan 2013-15 Commitment progress update to the work group for reviewing. Once feedback has been received the content will then be agreed with Gov.uk before gaining ministerial clearance. The government has stated that this will be published in this parliament and therefore work will need to be completed by Mid-March. 4.
Best practice guidance/ non-statutory code of conduct (by December 2014)
Behind schedule
Working group meetings have been concluded and drafted guidance is being cleared by BIS legal. The guidance will then be sent to the work group for reviewing. Once feedback has been received the content will then be agreed with Gov.uk before gaining ministerial clearance. The government has stated that this will be published in this parliament and therefore work will need to be completed by Mid-March. 5.
Assessment of the current whistleblowing ET1 referral system (by April 2015)
On track
Analysis work is currently being carried out to build a clearer picture of suitability and whether improvements are required. 6.
The introduction of a duty to report (by April 2015)
On track
This is currently due to reach the Lords Report stage in March 2015 with the view to receive Royal Ascent on 1 April 2015. Consultation has been carried out to decide on the way reports will be published and the requirements of the reports. 7.
Update the prescribed persons list (by April 2015)
Complete
We have undertaken a major exercise, working with other government departments, to ensure the list is accurate and up-to-date. The up-to-date list was published in October 2014. 8.
Include relevant groups currently excluded from the protections (by April 2015)
On track
The Statutory Instrument to bring student nurses and student midwifes into the whistleblowing framework has been laid before Parliament, been successfully debated in both houses and is awaiting final clearance. These were the groups identified through the government’s response but we will continue to monitor whether other groups should be included. 9.
Explore options to celebrate those employers who embrace whistleblowing in their organisations (by April 2015)
On track
Although this has not been finalised, the government does still want to celebrate organisations that embrace whistleblowing and this will be carried out by April 2015. More information about this commitment and previous progress updates are available on the OGP website.
