§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will make it his policy, when reviewing the arrangements for determining his Department's rates applying to those living in private residential care, to ensure that those rates are not negotiated by his Department's staff, or local authority staff, who hold direct or indirect financial interests in such private residential homes;
(2) what rules apply to his Department's staff holding direct or indirect financial interests in private residential or nursing homes; and whether his Department's staff are required to register such financial interests for public inspection.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardCentral rules provide that civil servants must not put private interests before their duty to the state or put themselves in a position where duty and private interests conflict or make use of their official position to further those interests. Officers who have occasion to deal in an official capacity with any matter in which they have a private interest, are required to disclose that interest to a senior officer and ask that some other officer deals with the matter.
Additionally, in DSS, staff having significant face-to-face contact with the public are not normally permitted to undertake any private activity within the area covered by their office.
However, provided management is satisfied that it would be proper to do so, permission may exceptionally be given for staff to hold a financial interest in private residential or nursing homes if there are no more than six long-stay residents and the officer undertakes to produce and keep up to date a list of residents' names so that management may ensure that the officer has no official dealings with the home or its residents.