Swathes of Bank of England workers afraid to speak out

AROUND four in 10 staff at the Bank of England do not feel free to speak their mind without fear of “negative consequences”, according to a survey of workers.

Officials are seeking to improve compliance at the Bank, as a poll shows that openness among workers on Threadneedle Street is lower than other public sector bodies.

A Whitehall survey of civil servants found that more than three-quarters of staff felt they could talk openly, according to the National Audit Office (NAO), well above the Bank’s 59pc.

A review by the NAO said “good progress” has been made in raising this from 51pc in 2021, but added that “there is more work to be done”.

The NAO is reviewing the Bank’s compliance practices after a series of high-profile controversies.

This included, in 2017, Charlotte Hogg, a deputy governor, resigning less than a fortnight into the role after failing to properly declare her brother’s role at Barclays. Since then, the Bank has sought to improve the way it manages compliance risks, the NAO said.

It has offered more “training and workshops on risk awareness and speaking up” to create “a culture of risk awareness among staff ”.

Bosses have “aimed to take a proportionate response to breaches, to create a healthy and open culture where staff are more likely to report incidents or concerns”. However, creating a consistent culture of compliance poses a challenge as 1,400 of the Bank’s staff – one-quarter – have been there for less than two years, the NAO found. It also found 628 minor compliance breaches in the 12 months to August 2023 – such as sending emails to the wrong address.

There were also 28 major breaches, a category which can include “senior level conflicts that materially affect an official’s independence but have not been disclosed”.

David Roberts, chairman of the Court of the Bank of England, said: “The Bank is committed to promoting the highest standards of integrity and ethics.”