Public Bodies: Disclosure of Information
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the whistleblowing framework in protecting people who report wrongdoing in public bodies.
Answered by Kate Dearden
Workers in Great Britain – including those in the public sector – are protected from detriment (adverse treatment) and, if they are employees, dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996 if they ‘blow the whistle’ on wrongdoing and certain conditions are met. This is known as making a protected disclosure.
For a worker to receive protection they must reasonably believe that the disclosure is in the public interest and relates to one or more types of wrongdoing listed in the Act. A worker must also make the disclosure through the proper channels, one of which is to a ‘prescribed person’ listed in the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014. Many prescribed persons are regulators, which can investigate and take enforcement action in relation to wrongdoing.
The Government has acknowledged concerns expressed by some parliamentarians and stakeholders that the whistleblowing framework may not be operating as effectively as it should be. That is why it recently committed in the Anti-Corruption Strategy 2025 to explore opportunities for reform.
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