Version: V2
Ratified by: Finance & Investment Committee
Date ratified: 03/04/2024
Job Title of Author: Director of Finance
Reviewed by Committee or Expert Group
Other Expert Group
Equality Impact Assessed by: Director of Finance
Related Procedural Documents
Anti-Crime Policy
Conflicts of Interest Policy
Freedom to speak up Policy
Review date: March 2027
It is the responsibility of users to ensure that you are using the most up to date document template – i.e. obtained via the intranet.
In developing/reviewing this policy Provide Community has had regard to the principles of the NHS Constitution.
Version Control Sheet
Version Date Author Status Comment
V1 March 2021 Assistant Director of Finance Ratified
V2 March 2024 Director of Finance Updated titles, contacts and links
1. Introduction
This policy outlines what staff and Non-Executive Directors can accept in the forms of gifts, hospitality or commercial sponsorship.
It is a long-established principle that public sector bodies or those providing services to the NHS using public money must be impartial and honest in the conduct of their business; and that employees should remain beyond suspicion. As Provide Group provides services to the NHS, this policy follows NHS best practice guidance.
2. Purpose
Provide Group has a responsibility to ensure the expected standards of business conduct are brought to the attention of all staff and that systems are put in place to ensure they are effectively implemented.
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to Provide Group staff on the acceptance of gifts or hospitality and the handling of commercial sponsorship.
This policy is intended to:
• Ensure you are aware of the need to act impartially in all of your work;
• Protect you against the possibility of accusations of corrupt practice;
• Uphold the established principles of business conduction within the public sector, and ensure that Provide Group complies with contractual requirements of providers of NHS services;
• Uphold the reputation of Provide Group and our staff in the way we conduct our business; and
• Uphold the principles of openness and transparency. It is not intended to develop unnecessary bureaucracy.
This policy applies to all staff employed by Provide Group, and to those employed by Provide Group subsidiaries including agency staff, contractors, suppliers, service users and other third parties associated with Provide Group. It also applies to Board members of Provide Group and its subsidiaries (including Non-Executive Directors).
Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. Breaches of this policy which constitute criminal offence may be subject to criminal investigation and/or prosecution.
Failure to disclose the receipt of offer of gifts, hospitality, sponsorship or other inducements, or the submission of false declarations, may constitute offences under the Fraud Act 2006, and such matters should be reported to the Counter Fraud team at the earliest opportunity.
3. Definitions
For the purpose of this policy:
Gift is any item of cash or goods, or any service, which is provided for personal benefit, free of charge, or at less than its commercial value.
Hospitality means offers of meals, refreshments, travel accommodation and other expenses in relation to attendance at meetings, conferences, education and training events.
Donations are charitable financial payments, which can be given in the form of direct cash payments or through the application of a will or similar device.
Commercial Sponsorship is funding from an external source, including funding of all or part of the costs of a member of staff, NHS research, staff, training, pharmaceuticals, equipment, provision of free services (including speakers) and meeting rooms.
Fraud is where any person who dishonestly makes a false representation to make a gain for himself or another or dishonestly fails to disclose to another person, information which he is under a legal duty to disclose, or commits fraud by abuse of position, including any offence as defined in the Fraud Act 2006.
Bribery is the giving or receiving a financial or other advantage in connection with the ‘improper performance’ of trust or a function that is expected to be performed impartially or in good faith. Where the Provide Group is engaged in commercial activity it could be considered guilty of a corporate bribery offence if an employee, agent, subsidiary or any other person acting on its behalf bribes another person intending to obtain or retain business or an advantage in the conduct of business for the Provide Group and it cannot demonstrate that it has adequate procedures in place to prevent such. The adequate procedures that the Provide Group is required to have in place to prevent bribery being committed on their behalf are performed by six principles – proportionate procedures, toplevel commitment, risk assessment, communication (including training), monitoring and review. The Provide Group does not tolerate any bribery on its behalf, even if this might result in a loss of business for it. Criminal liability must be prevented at all times.
4. The Bribery Act 2010
The introduction of the Bribery Act 2010 places responsibility on Provide Group to ensure robust procedures are in place to prevent bribery and corruption taking place within the organisation. It is the responsibility of all employees to ensure that they are not placed in a position which risks, or appears to risk, conflict between their private interests or benefits and their Provide Group duties.
All individuals within healthcare organisations are capable of being prosecuted for taking or offering a bribe. There is no maximum level of fines that can be imposed and an individual convicted of an offence can be imprisoned for up to ten years. The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1st July 2011 and creates five basic offences:
• Bribing another person with the intention of inducing that person to perform a relevant function or activity improperly or to reward that person for doing so
• Accepting a bribe with the intention that a relevant function or activity should be performed improperly as a result
• Bribing a foreign public official
• A Director, manager or officer of a commercial organisation allowing or turning a blind eye to bribery within the organisation
• Failing to prevent bribery – where a person (including employees, agents and external third parties) associated with a relevant commercial organisation bribes another person intending to obtain or retain a business advantage. This is a strict liability offence which can be committed by the organisation unless it can show, in its defence that it had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery
Compliance with this Policy and a requirement to declare certain interests which may be in conflict with the interests of the Provide Group, will serve to protect staff as well as the Provide Group, by having a culture of openness and thereby reducing the risk of suspicion of possibly being in breach of the Bribery Act 2010.
5. Duties and Responsibilities
Ratifying Committee
The Ratifying Committee is responsible for:
• ensuring that the policy meets all legal and regulatory requirements; and clearly and concisely articulates the obligations of staff and Non-Executive Directors; and
• ensuring the Provide Group has an identified individual with responsibility for providing advice and support for staff and Non-Executive Directors and maintaining a register of gifts hospitality and commercial sponsorship.
The Audit and Risk Committee
The Audit and Risk Committee is responsible for reviewing the Gifts, Hospitality and Commercial Sponsorship register on a monthly basis.
Chief Finance Officer
The Chief Finance Officer is responsible for:
• ensuring Provide Group has clear, well communicated processes in place to help staff and Non-Executive Directors to understand what they need to do when offered gifts, hospitality or commercial sponsorship;
• maintaining a register of gifts, hospitality and commercial sponsorship; and
• ensuring that policies procedures and processes relating to this policy are audited at least every 3 years.
Executive Team and Heads of Service
The Executive Team and Heads of Service are responsible for:
• ensuring their staff are aware of this policy and understand its implications; and
• forwarding ‘Declarations of Gifts Hospitality and Sponsorship’ to the Finance Department in a timely manner.
Members of Staff and Non-Executive Directors
Members of staff and Non-Executive Directors are responsible for:
• ensuring that the best interests of the public patients/clients remains paramount at all times;
• being impartial and honest in the conduct of your official business;
• ensuring that decisions are not improperly influenced by gifts or inducements;
• using the funds entrusted to you to the best advantage of the service and Provide Group always ensuring value for money;
• making sure that resources are protected from fraud and corruption and any concerns of this kind are reported; and
• seeking advice from their line manager or the Finance Department if they are unsure as to whether to accept or decline an offer of a gift, hospitality, donation or commercial sponsorship.
Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS)
• The LCFS is responsible for taking forward all counter fraud work locally in accordance with National Standards and reports directly to the Chief Finance Officer.
• Adhering to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) counter fraud standards is important in ensuring that Provide has appropriate counter fraud arrangements in place and the LCFS will look to achieve the highest standards possible in their work.
• The LCFS will work with key colleagues and stakeholders to promote counter fraud work, apply effective preventative measures and investigate allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption.
• The LCFS will conduct risk assessments in relation to their work to prevent fraud, bribery and corruption.
• The LCFS will inform the Chief Finance Officer about all referrals / cases, including the status of any investigations undertaken by the NHSCFA.
• The LCFS will investigate all allegations of fraud. In consultation with the Chief Finance Officer, the LCFS will report any case to the police or the NHSCFA, as agreed, and in accordance with the NHS Counter Fraud Manual.
• The LCFS will report any case and the outcome through the NHSCFA national case management system.
• The LCFS will inform other relevant parties such as HR, where necessary, if an employee is a subject of a referral.
• The LCFS will follow up any system weaknesses identified as part of an investigation with management and reported to internal audit, where applicable.
• The LCFS will adhere to the Counter Fraud Professional Accreditation Board (CFPAB)’s Principles of Professional Code of Conduct as set out within the NHS Counter Fraud Manual.
6. Gifts
A gift means any item of cash or goods, or any service, which is provided for personal benefit, free of charge, or at less than its commercial value. The guiding principle in all circumstances is that staff should not accept gifts that may affect, or be seen to affect, their professional judgment. Under no circumstances should staff solicit gifts of any kind as this may constitute a criminal offence under the Bribery Act 2010.
7. Gifts from Patients, Families and Carers
Staff and Non-Executive Directors should not accept gifts that may affect or be seen to affect, their professional judgement.
Gifts should not normally be accepted as part of your duties. Low value items such as biscuits, sweets, calendars, mugs or small tokens of gratitude from patients or their relatives which appear to have a value of £50 or less may be accepted and do not need to be declared. Should an individual be offered several small gifts from the same source within a timeframe of 12 months which total more than £50, subsequent gifts must be refused. The gifts are to be declared using the Declaration of Gifts and Hospitality form at appendix A and will be entered onto the Gifts, Hospitality and Commercial Sponsorship Register.
There may be circumstances where a gift is offered that clearly has a value in excess of £50. These should normally be declined. Gifts of cash and vouchers to individuals should always be declined. Donations to the Provide Group are a separate matter and in these circumstances the Director of Finance should be consulted.
Gifts with a value of over £50 should be treated with caution and only accepted on behalf of the organisation, not in a personal capacity. Occasions may arise when you are unable to decline the gift, as it has been delivered to your place of work, or it would be discourteous to do so and cause embarrassment to the person making the offer.
In these circumstances, your Head of Service should be advised as soon as possible and a decision made on what to do with the gift. Cash gifts could, for example, be donated to our charitable fund. If in doubt, further guidance can be obtained from the Chief Finance Officer. Otherwise, the gift should be returned to the person with a note thanking them, but explaining that you are not allowed to accept gifts of this nature.
All offers of gifts with an estimated value of £50 or more must be declared using the form attached at Appendix A (also available via the intranet) within 5 working days to your Head of Service with a copy to the Finance Department. The declaration will be entered on the Provide Group’s Gifts, Hospitality and Commercial Sponsorship Register.
A common sense approach should be applied when valuing gifts, using the actual amount if known, or an estimate that a reasonable person would make as to its value.
8. Gifts from Suppliers or Contractors
Gifts from suppliers or contractors doing business (or likely to do business) with an organisation can be accepted with the prior, written approval of the Chief Finance Officer. Gifts from suppliers of any value must be declared.
Low cost branded promotional aids such as pens or post-it notes, where they are at under £6 in total, may be accepted and need not be declared.
9. Hospitality
Staff should not ask for or accept hospitality that may affect, or be seen to affect, their professional judgement.
Hospitality must only be accepted when there is a legitimate business reason, and it is proportionate to the nature and purpose of the event.
Modest hospitality, such as refreshments, provided in normal and reasonable circumstances during the course of working visits or external meetings is acceptable and does not need to be declared.
Hospitality such as lunches for a team should be on a scale that Provide Group might offer in similar circumstances such as hospitality provided at meetings, events or seminars.
Particular caution should be exercised when hospitality is offered by actual or potential suppliers or contractors. This can be accepted, and must be declared, if modest and reasonable. Formal approval via an authorised Declaration of Gifts and Hospitality form at Appendix A must be obtained in advance.
Meals and refreshments with a value of up to £25 may be accepted and need not be declared.
Meals and refreshments with a value of between £25 and £75 may be accepted and must be declared. All other offers should be politely and firmly declined unless senior approval is given and the reasons for acceptance recorded.
Modest offers to pay some or all of travel expenses and accommodation costs relating to attendance at events may be accepted and must be declared.
Offers which go beyond the type Provide Group would not usually offer (such as business or first-class travel and accommodation or offers of foreign travel or accommodation) should only be accepted in exceptional circumstances, and with the approval of the Chief Finance Officer. These must be declared and a reason as to why this was allowed must be recorded on the register.
10.Donations
Donations made by suppliers or bodies seeking to do business with the organisation should be treated with caution and not routinely accepted. In exceptional circumstances they may be accepted but should always be declared. A clear reason should be recorded as to why it was deemed acceptable, alongside the actual or estimated value.
Staff should not actively solicit charitable donations unless this is a prescribed or expected part of their duties for the organisation, or is being pursued on behalf of the organisation’s own registered charity or other charitable body and is not for their own personal gain.
Staff must obtain permission from their Head of Service if in their professional role they intend to undertake fundraising activities on behalf of a pre-approved charitable campaign.
Donations, when received, should be made to a Provide charitable fund and a receipt should be issued.
Staff wishing to donate to a Provide charitable fund in lieu of receiving a professional fee may do so, subject to ensuring that they take personal responsibility for ensuring that any tax liabilities related to such donations are properly discharged and accounted for.