Values
Our primary focus will always be safeguarding the interests of taxpayers and promoting better outcomes for everyone using public services. Working with other regulators, we will also continue to reduce the burden of regulation on local public services.
What’s important to us:
- Economy, efficiency and effectiveness – promoting and providing high quality and excellent value-for-money public services – recognising that public money, which is provided involuntarily by taxpayers, is special.
- Integrity and independence – upholding the highest professional standards, guarding the Commission’s independence and basing our judgements on evidence.
- Collaboration – sharing knowledge, connecting with colleagues, partners and clients and working together.
- Investment in people – developing the skills and abilities of our people and supporting their well-being.
- Equality and diversity – treating each other with dignity and respect, and valuing people for their unique contribution.
- Accountability – being fair and transparent in the way we operate, communicating openly and honestly and providing redress when things go wrong.
- Professionalism – continually seeking to improve, managing our performance and accepting responsibility.
- Sustainability – taking responsibility for reducing the environmental impact of the way we work at the Audit Commission.
Our code of conduct
All our staff are bound by the Audit Commission Code of Conduct. The code helps staff to apply these values to their day-to-day role.
Audit Commission Code of Conduct
Equalities
Our approach
The Audit Commission is committed to eliminating discrimination and
harassment and to promoting human rights and equality between people
with and without protected characteristics. When we carry out our functions
or make significant changes to the way we work, we consider the potential
impact on people with protected characteristics (which may relate to their
age, gender, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or belief).
We ensure we have the right information to hand about equality issues to
make informed choices and decisions and consider this before and at the time
we take decisions.
Our equality objective from 2013
We aim to ensure there is no difference in employment outcomes for our
staff or potential recruits because of their age, gender, disability, gender
reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or
religion and belief.
We publish an equality action plan each year.
Equality action plan for 2013/14
Our equality information
Our workforce reduced by 912 people in the period 1 January to 31 December
2012. On 1 November 2012 around 700 auditors transferred to new private-
sector employers and the Commission’s Audit Practice closed. Other staff
posts were made redundant as a result of this change and other changes
to the Audit Commission’s work. The transfer and redundancies of staff
were implemented in a fair and consistent manner. We carried out the
transfer of staff in accordance with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection
of Employment) Regulations and related guidance and we carried out an
internal restructuring exercise in accordance with our Management of Change
procedure.
Information about our workforce: 1 January to 31 December 2012
The main users of our services are local public bodies subject to audit, the
audit firms we contract with, members of the public and other organisations
with an interest in the performance and financial standing of local public
bodies. They can access the information we publish on our website and we
can provide information in other formats if required. Members of the public
and other organisations can contact us by letter, telephone, text or email.
We have not published specific information about the protected characteristics
of our service users as we do not collect this information. However, we
consider and respond to the needs of people with protected characteristics
who contact us.
We take account of relevant equality information when we carry out equality
impact assessments. We have issued guidance to our staff on how to carry
out equality impact assessments.
Equalities guidance for staff 2013
Earlier equality impact assessments
Details of equality impact assessments we have carried out in the past are available from our archive site.