MLUK Conflict Of Interest Policy
1. Document Control History:
Approved by The Music Works trustees and the MLUK advisory board in May 2023 and reviewed annually thereafter. Employee access to the policy via Sharepoint. Supporting documents and evidence of a confidential nature restricted to Senior Management Team employees. This policy should be read in conjunction with the MLUK Maladministration and Malpractice Policy.
2. Policy statement
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organisation is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other. This policy describes how potential conflicts of interest are identified and managed by Music Leaders UK (MLUK).
3.Scope
This policy applies to approved centres and staff including assessors and internal verifiers, and all MLUK personnel including advisory board members, staff and any person or organisation that that carries out any service for MLUK (this may be paid or unpaid). Assessors appointed by MLUK to undertake qualification assessments are also included. This policy and associated procedure supports us in insuring that working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, partners and customers do not conflict with our requirement to engage in business relationships in a legal, transparent, ethical and responsible manner and to meet the requirements in our regulators’ Conditions of Recognition.
4. Responsibility
MLUK’s Responsible/ Accountable Officer (RAO) has overall responsibility for ensuring that this policy is implemented. If the RAO is in a personally conflicted situation the chair of the advisory board will assume responsibility. The advisory board members of MLUK and staff will have a responsibility to ensure this policy is implemented in their areas of delivery. External stakeholders such as other Awarding Organisations, approved centres and employers will carry a responsibility to implement this policy.
5. What this policy covers and how it will be implemented
5.1 Identifying conflict of interest.
MLUK staff
All personnel including staff, EVs, those involved in the development of qualifications and/or assessment, the delivery of end-point assessments for apprenticeship standards, and advisory board members are required upon appointment and annually thereafter to complete a ‘Declaration of Conflict of Interest’ form. This must be kept current and where conflicts of interest change the form must be resubmitted.
This process is included in MLUK’s Annual Plan of Activities which is monitored by the advisory board. Additionally, at each advisory board meeting members are requested to declare potential conflict of interest with regards to any of the agenda items.
MLUK approved centres and staff
Centres are required to declare to MLUK any potential conflict of interest via the ‘Declaration of Conflict of Interest’ form as documented in the Centre Handbook. External Verifiers are required to report any actual or potential conflict of interest that they identify during their monitoring activities.
5.2 Managing conflict of interest.
Assessing the risks to MLUK arising from potential conflicts of interest is an integral part of MLUK’s overall and ongoing risk management process which is discussed at every advisory board meeting.
Declared conflicts are reviewed by the RAO (or where the conflict is with this person, this will be reviewed by the Chair of the advisory board, or where the conflict is this person this will be reviewed by The Music Works Trustees.), to establish whether a conflict does actually exist and if so, how this will be managed.
It may be sufficient to gain an undertaking from the individual to conduct their responsibilities so that the integrity of MLUK is maintained, as well as their own integrity and/or reorganise activities so that the conflict is mitigated. Examples of how conflicts of interest may be managed are shown below.
• Board conflicts.
In the case of a conflict of interest arising for an advisory board member because of duty of loyalty to another organisation or person the un-conflicted members may authorise such a conflict of interest where the following conditions apply:
The advisory board member who has declared the conflict of interest withdraws from the part of the meeting at which there is discussion of any arrangement or transaction affecting that other organisation or person.
The advisory board member who has the conflict of interest does not vote on any such matter and is not counted when considering whether a quorum of members is present at the meeting.
Any such disclosure and the subsequent actions taken are noted in the minutes.
• MLUK Colleagues.
If a conflict of interest arises, or it is anticipated that one may arise, MLUK staff must inform their line manager or a Senior Management Team member in protection of the business and individuals. Concerns may be raised in confidence (subject to the requirements to disclose certain information to statutory bodies) and staff would be directed to the Whistleblowing policy for information. All potential conflicts of interest which relate to an employee will be recorded on the HR system.
• Stakeholders
Stakeholders, including customers and approved centres, should report risks or instances of conflicts of interest as per the conditions set out in their contract or centre approval process. Major conflicts of interest that could adversely affect the business of MLUK should be escalated to the RAO.
6. Specific areas for consideration regarding potential conflicts of interest.
MLUK staff who are engaged in a team or role that has access to qualification assessment materials, content or marking schemes may not be permitted to undertake an MLUK qualification due to the risk of a high level of conflict of interest and the potential adverse impact on regulatory requirements.
Any MLUK member of staff who has access to confidential assessment materials leading to a qualification may not deliver training to external organisations on that qualification. All members of staff who have access to such confidential assessment materials must have signed a MLUK confidentiality agreement.
Where a MLUK qualification/assessment developer has close relationships with other Awarding Organisations a confidentiality agreement must be signed and reviewed regularly.
Where a MLUK assessor, employed or freelance, has a family relationship or friendship with a candidate there is a potential for a conflict of interest. To mitigate this risk another assessor will be allocated and where this is not possible assessment decisions will be subject to internal and external verification.
Where an assessor has a prior relationship with an assessment candidate, for example as a trainer, then an alternative assessor will be appointed unless the assessment has already taken place in which situation any decision must be subject to internal and external verification.
Any actual or potential conflict of interest identified will be added to the Conflict of Interest Register which includes information about how the conflict of interest is managed, and when this will be reviewed. This is kept under review by the advisory board as a standing agenda item at Board meetings and is part of the ongoing risk management process.