Anti-Bribery Policy

What is Bribery?

Bribery is an inducement or reward offered, promised or provided to gain personal, commercial, regulatory or contractual advantage.

The Bribery Act 2010

There are four key offences under the 2010 Bribery Act:

1. Bribery of another person (Section 1) makes it an offence to offer, promise or give a bribe
2. Accepting a bribe (Section 2) makes it an offence to request, agree to receive, or accept a bribe
3. Bribing a foreign public official (Section 6) makes it an offence with the intention of obtaining or retaining business or an advantage in the conduct of business
4. Failing to prevent bribery (Section 7) makes it a corporate offence where there is failure by a commercial organisation to prevent bribery that is intended to obtain or retain business, or an advantage in the conduct of business, for the organisation. An organisation will have a defence to this corporate offence if it can show that it had in place adequate procedures designed to prevent bribery by or of persons associated with the

Penalties

An individual guilty of an offence under sections 1, 2 or 6 of the Bribery Act 2010 is liable:

• On conviction in a Magistrates Court, to imprisonment for a maximum term of 12 months, or to a fine not exceeding £5,000, or to both
• On conviction in a Crown Court, to imprisonment for a maximum term of ten years, or to an unlimited fine, or both

Organisations are liable for these fines and if guilty of an offence under section 7 are liable to an unlimited fine.

Public contracts and failure to prevent bribery

Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 contracting authorities shall exclude a supplier from participation in a procurement procedure where they have established that supplier has been convicted of certain offences, including bribery.

Scope of this policy

The responsibility for minimising the risk of bribery occurring resides at all levels of the Council, in all Departments and all Services.

This policy therefore applies to all Council employees including those permanently employed, those employed on a casual or temporary contract, temporary agency staff, contractors, non-executives, agents, Members, volunteers and consultants.

This policy applies to all of the Council's activities and the Council will seek to promote the adoption of policies consistent with the principles set out in this policy for partners, joint ventures and suppliers.

Anti-Bribery Policy Statement

This Statement sets out Bradford Council's policy in relation to bribery and is supplementary to the Council's wider Counter Fraud Policy and Strategy.

The Council takes its responsibilities to protect the public purse very seriously and is fully committed to the highest ethical standards, in order to ensure the proper use and protection of public funds and assets.

The Council recognises that bribery, either directly between two parties or using a third party as a conduit to channel bribes to others, is a criminal offence.

The Council does not, and will not, pay bribes or offer an improper inducement to anyone for any purpose, nor does it or will it, accept bribes or improper inducements or engage indirectly in or otherwise encourage bribery.

As detailed in the Council's Counter Fraud Policy and Strategy, the Council is wholly opposed to all forms of fraud, theft, corruption (including bribery) and any other financial irregularity both from within the Council and from external sources as this is bad for the economy and can adversely impact on the provision of public services for the citizens of Bradford.

The Council therefore, advocates strict adherence to its anti-fraud framework and associated policies and, has a zero tolerance approach requiring that all Council employees, councillors, suppliers, contractors, partners or service users act honestly and with integrity at all times and do not become involved in paying or accepting bribes or other improper inducements.

The Council will take all necessary steps to investigate and pursue appropriate sanctions available in each case, in accordance with the Council's Corporate Fraud Sanctions Policy and/or the Member and Employee Codes of Conduct. Sanctions could include prosecution in the Criminal Courts; removal from office; disciplinary action; dismissal; loss recovery and/or referral to the Police and/or other agencies.

The Council will ensure that all parties covered in the “scope” section of this policy:

1. Understand what constitutes bribery and what their responsibilities are
2. Have read and understood this policy and adhere strictly to it at all times
3. Are suitably trained, to recognise and avoid occurrences of becoming personally involved in allegations of bribery and to recognise when others may be involved
4. Remain vigilant and report any suspicions of bribery to their Assistant Director and the Corporate Investigations Unit as soon as possible
5. Know that they should treat any offer of a gift or hospitality (either to them personally or their family members) with extreme caution and to always report it to their line manager. (The context is very important when deciding whether or not to accept an offer of a gift, and any offer from an organisation seeking to do business with or provide services to the Council or in the process of applying for permission or some other decision from the Council is unlikely ever to be acceptable, regardless of the value of the gift).
6. Do not:
   • Give or promise to give, or offer a payment, gift or hospitality with the expectation or hope that a business advantage will be received, or to reward a business advantage already given
   • Give or promise to give, or offer a payment, gift or hospitality to a government official, agent or representative to "facilitate" or expedite a routine procedure
   • Accept payment from a third party where it is known or suspected that it is offered with the expectation that it will obtain a business advantage for them
   • Accept a gift or hospitality from a third party where it is known or suspected that it is offered or provided with an expectation that a business advantage will be provided by the Council in return
   • Retaliate against or threaten a person who has refused to commit a bribery offence or who has raised concerns under this policy
   • Engage in activity in breach of this policy
7. Understand that breaches of this policy could constitute “Gross Misconduct” and result in disciplinary action being taken, including and up to dismissal.