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COT Secretariat
Food Standards Agency
Aviation House
125 Kingsway
London WC2B 6NH

Tel: 020 7276 8522
Fax: 020 7276 8513

cot@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

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• Food Standards Agency
• Department of Health
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• Committee on Carcinogenicity
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Code of Conduct for members

COT Members follow a Code of Conduct.

ANNEX 1 - The seven principles of public life

ANNEX 2 - Different types of interest

Public service values

The members of the COT must at all times:

• observe the highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity in relation to the advice they provide and the management of this Committee;
• be accountable, through the Chairman of the Food Standards Agency, the Chief Medical Officer, to Ministers, Parliament and the public for its activities and for the standard of advice it provides.

The Ministers of the sponsoring departments are answerable to Parliament for the policies and performance of this Committee, including the policy framework within which it operates.

Standards in Public Life

All Committee members must:

• follow the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (Annex 1);
• comply with this Code, and ensure they understand their duties, rights and responsibilities, and that they are familiar with the function and role of this Committee and any relevant statements of Government policy. If necessary members should consider undertaking relevant training to assist them in carrying out their role;
• not misuse information gained in the course of their public service for personal gain or for political purpose, nor seek to use the opportunity of public service to promote their private interests or those of connected persons, firms, businesses or other organisations; and
• not hold any paid or high profile unpaid posts in a political party, and not engage in specific political activities on matters directly affecting the work of this Committee. When engaging in other political activities, Committee members should be conscious of their public role and exercise proper discretion. These restrictions do not apply to MPs (in those cases where MPs are eligible to be appointed), to local councillors, or to Peers in relation to their conduct in the House of Lords.

Role of Committee members

Members have collective responsibility for the operation of this Committee. They must:

• engage fully in collective consideration of the issues, taking account of the full range of relevant factors, including any guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency ; the Department of Health and sponsor departments or the responsible Minister;
• in accordance with Government policy on openness, ensure that they adhere to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (including prompt responses to public requests for information); agree an Annual Report; and, where practicable and appropriate, provide suitable opportunities to open up the work of the Committee to public scrutiny
• not divulge any information which is provided to the Committee in confidence;
• ensure that an appropriate response is provided to complaints and other correspondence, if necessary with reference to the sponsor department; and
• ensure that the Committee does not exceed its powers or functions.

Individual members should inform the Chairman (or the Secretariat on his or her behalf) if they are invited to speak in public in their capacity as a Committee member.

Communications between the Committee and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board and /or Ministers will generally be through the Chairman except where the Committee has agreed that an individual member should act on its behalf. Nevertheless, any member has the right of access to the FSA Board and/or Ministers on any matter that he or she believes raises important issues relating to his or her duties as a Committee member. In such cases the agreement of the rest of the Committee should normally be sought.

Individual members can be removed from office by the FSA Board if they fail to perform the duties required of them in line with the standards expected in public office.

The role of the Chair

The Chair has particular responsibility for providing effective leadership on the issues above. In addition, the Chairman is responsible for:

• ensuring that the Committee meets at appropriate intervals, and that the minutes of meetings and any reports to the FSA Board accurately record the decisions taken and, where appropriate, the views of individual members;
• representing the views of the Committee to the general public; and
• ensuring that new members are briefed on appointment (and their training needs considered), and providing an assessment of their performance, on request, when members are considered for re-appointment to the Committee or for appointment to the board of some other public body.

Handling conflicts of interests

The purpose of these provisions is to avoid any danger of Committee members being influenced, or appearing to be influenced, by their private interests in the exercise of their public duties. All members should declare any personal or business interest which may, or may be perceived (by a reasonable member of the public) to, influence their judgement. A guide to the types of interest that should be declared is at Annex 2.

(i) Declaration of Interests to the Secretariat

Members of the Committee should inform the Secretariat in writing of their current personal and non-personal interests, when they are appointed, including the principal position(s) held. Only the name of the company and the nature of the interest are required; the amount of any salary etc. need not be disclosed. An interest is current if the member has an on-going financial involvement with industry, eg if he or she holds shares in industry, has a consultancy contract, or if the member or the department for which he or she is responsible is in the process of carrying out work for industry. Members are asked to inform the Secretariat at any time of any change of their personal interests and will be invited to complete a declaration form once a year. It is sufficient if changes in non-personal interests are reported in the annual declaration form following the change. (Non-personal interests involving less than ¿1,000 from a particular company in the previous year need not be declared to the Secretariat).

The register of interests should be kept up-to-date and be open to the public.

(ii) Declaration of Interest and Participation at Meetings

Members of the Committee are required to declare any direct interests relating to salaried employment or consultancies, or those of close family members* , in matters under discussion at each meeting. Having fully explained the nature of their interest the Chairman will, having consulted the other members present, decide whether and to what extent the member should participate in the discussion and determination of the issue. If it is decided that the member should leave the meeting, the Chairman may first allow them to make a statement on the item under discussion.

Personal liability of Committee members

A Committee member may be personally liable if he or she makes a fraudulent or negligent statement which results in a loss to a third party; or may commit a breach of confidence under common law or a criminal offence under insider dealing legislation, if he or she misuses information gained through their position. However, the Government has indicated that individual members who have acted honestly, reasonably, in good faith and without negligence will not have to meet out of their own personal resources any personal civil liability which is incurred in execution or purported execution of their Committee functions save where the person has acted recklessly. To this effect a formal statement of indemnity has been drawn up.

* Close family members include personal partners, parents, children, brothers, sisters and the personal partners of any of these.

ANNEX 1

THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE

Selflessness
Holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.
Integrity
Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties.
Objectivity
In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.
Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.
Openness
Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.
Honesty
Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interests.
Leadership
Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

ANNEX 2

DIFFERENT TYPES OF INTEREST

The following is intended as a guide to the kinds of interests that should be declared. Where members are uncertain as to whether an interest should be declared they should seek guidance from the Secretariat or, where it may concern a particular product which is to be considered at a meeting, from the Chairman at that meeting. If members have interests not specified in these notes but which they believe could be regarded as influencing their advice they should declare them. However, neither the members nor the Secretariat are under any obligation to search out links of which they might reasonably not be aware. For example, either through not being aware of all the interests of family members, or of not being aware of links between one company and another.

Personal Interests

A personal interest involves the member personally. The main examples are:

- Consultancies and/or direct employment: any consultancy, directorship, position in or work for industry which attracts regular or occasional payments in cash or kind;

- Fee-Paid Work: any commissioned work by industry for which the member is paid in cash or kind;

- Shareholdings: any shareholding or other beneficial interest in shares of industry. This does not include shareholdings through unit trusts or similar arrangements where the member has no influence on financial management;

Non-Personal Interests

A non-personal interest involves payment which benefits a department for which a member is responsible, but is not received by the member personally. The main examples are:

Fellowships: the holding of a fellowship endowed by industry;

Support by Industry: any payment, other support or sponsorship which does not convey any pecuniary or material benefit to a member personally, but which does benefit their position or department e.g.:

(i) a grant for the running of a unit or department for which a member is responsible;

(ii) a grant or fellowship or other payment to sponsor a post or a member of staff or a post graduate research programme in the unit for which a member is responsible. This does not include financial assistance for students;

(iii) the commissioning of research or other work by, or advice from, staff
who work in a unit for which the member is responsible.

Members are under no obligation to seek out knowledge of work done for, or on behalf of, the industry or other relevant bodies by departments for which they are responsible, if they would not normally expect to be informed.

- Trusteeships: where a member is a trustee of a charity with investments in industry, the Secretariat can agree with the member a general declaration to cover this interest rather than draw up a detailed portfolio.

DEFINITIONS

In this Code, 'the industry' means:

• Companies, partnerships or individuals who are involved with the production, manufacture, sale or supply of products subject to the following legislation;
  • The Food Safety Act 1990
  • The Medicines Acts 1968 and 1971
  • The Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985
  • The Consumer Protection Act 1987
  • The Cosmetic (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 1987
  • The Notification of New Substances Regulations 1982
• Trade associations representing companies involved with such products;
• Companies, partnerships or individuals who are directly concerned with research, development or marketing of a product which is being considered by the Committees on Toxicity, Mutageneticity, or Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment.

In this Code 'the Secretariat' means the Secretariat of the COT.