The government has been urged to take a clearer lead in championing chartered status within the civil service.
More than 40 chartered and professional bodies, representing over 1.5 million workers, have written jointly to Department for Work and Pensions secretary Pat McFadden calling for professional standards to be championed at the heart of government.
The letter asks the government to take the lead in expecting and promoting registration and chartered status for all professionals in the civil service and across industry, arguing it is essential to rebuilding public trust and driving economic growth.
It says chartered and professional bodies “should be key partners of government” and are “a powerful ally in growing confidence across professions that are crucial to national growth and renewal”.
The letter says partnering with these bodies, which represent areas such as science, technology, engineering and maths, the environment, law, accountancy, leadership and management, projects, payroll, and procurement, “will ensure public policy has long-term credibility”.
“We have unique strengths in our membership communities and in our responsibility to be the voice of our professions, often supported by royal charters,” the letter says.
“We drive revenue into the economy by ensuring we have highly skilled workforces across critical sectors, rooted in professional registration and practice. We create broad and accessible routes to professional careers, while keeping standards high, providing competitive advantage for the UK around the world. Our members make clear ethical commitments as part of our codes of conduct, and support professionals’ freedom and safety to raise concerns, regardless of discipline. Active membership of a professional body is a pledge of public accountability, which is critical in the AI age.”
The letter, which also copies in Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, business and trade secretary Peter Kyle and Blair McDougall, minister for small business and economic transformation, concludes: “That is why we are asking government to take a lead in expecting and promoting registration and chartered status for all professionals in the vital sectors represented here, including in the civil service.”
Sharron Gunn, chief executive of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, one of the co-signatures to the letter, said: “Chartered status is not a badge for a minority at the top of their profession, it is a public commitment to competence, ethics and accountability. In the age of AI and digital transformation, that commitment matters more than ever.
“If we want the public to trust the systems that shape their lives, whether it’s public services or private digital infrastructure, we must champion professional standards at the heart of government itself.”
Petra Wilton, director of policy at the Chartered Management Institute, added that the request for government to take the lead in championing chartered statuses across the public sector seeks to "ensure that our civil service and vital public services are defined by their commitment to professional excellence, ethical practice and lifelong learning".
This week is Chartered Week, a national awareness campaign focused on celebrating, educating on and advocating for the vital role that chartership plays in setting high standards across industries and professions of all kinds. The letter was sent by the Chartered Week Alliance, which represents 42 chartered and professional bodies with a combined membership of more than 1.5 million professionals across the UK and internationally.
DWP has been approached for comment.