Bribery Act statement

The Bribery Act came into force on 01 July 2011. The purpose of the Act is to prevent bribery and corruption in both the public and private sectors.

Bribery can be defined as the offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting of an advantage as an inducement for an action which is illegal or a breach of trust.

The Act has six principles, one of which is that there is top level commitment in the organisation to prevent and detect bribery. The Board of Directors is committed to this and the Trust has operated a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption for a number of years. The Trust’s counter fraud team carry out a wide-ranging programme of work to prevent, detect and investigate all forms of fraud, bribery and corruption. This is to ensure that the valuable resources available to the Trust are used for patient care and not personal gain.

It is essential that everyone working for, or on behalf of, the Trust is aware of the standards of behaviour expected of them. These standards are set out in the Trust’s policies and procedures and reflect not only the law, but the expectations of behaviour enshrined in the King’s Values.

As an NHS organisation we follow good NHS business practice and have robust controls in place to prevent bribery. However, as a Trust, we cannot afford to be complacent and it is important that all our employees, contractors and agents comply with Trust policies and procedures, particularly with regard to procurement and sponsorship.

On behalf of the Trust I confirm our ongoing commitment to ensuring that all staff and those working on our behalf are aware of their responsibilities in relation to the prevention of fraud, bribery and corruption.

Professor Clive Kay
Chief Executive Officer