§ Mrs. Ann Taylorasked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) if he will publish the Estacode rules for the conduct of civil servants;
(2) how many times the Estacode of conduct for civil servants has been breached in the last 15 years; which persons were involved; and what were the reasons in each case;
(3) how many times in the last 25 years permission has been sought to avoid the Estacode rules for the conduct of civil servants; which persons were involved; how many times permission was granted or refused; and what were the reasons in each case.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisEstacode was a guide to Civil Service Establishment Branches, which contained general principles of conduct reminding civil servants of the high standards expected from them. The contents have now been largely incorporated in the new Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service Code and a separate Guide for the use of Establishment Officers. Copies of all of these are available to my hon. Friend in the Library of the House. The code may be consulted by any civil servant and it is widely distributed outside the Civil Service to other large employers.
Each Department is responsible for the conduct of its own staff. Departments supplement the general principles, with more specific rules as necessary. No central record is kept of every breach of these rules, and in view of the administrative effort involved I would hope my 712W hon. Friend would agree that it would be an unjustifiable public expense to do so.