Effective governance is an essential part of our public service ethos and the trust our customers have in us to operate with integrity and in line with our Values.  We seek to protect shareholder interests by managing our business in a way consistent with the broader interest of society.  We operate within a comprehensive corporate governance framework and approach, with clearly defined responsibilities and accountabilities and maintain internal control systems supported by internal compliance and assurance controls and risk management processes.  We are committed to collecting, storing, protecting and handling data with care and ensuring we protect the confidentiality, accuracy and availability of information.  We are committed to transparency maintaining open, meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders whilst creating long-term, sustainable value that protect the interests of our owners alongside those of our colleagues, customers and the communities in which we operate.

Our ambitions:

• Safeguard stakeholder interests including shareholder investments, customers, colleagues, our assets and reputation whilst supporting strategic and business opportunities.

• Protect the organisation and data subjects against attack resulting in loss of service or a data breach (including personal or customer data).

• Create long-term, sustainable shareholder value.