A cross-party group of MPs is calling for a new code to set standards of ethical behaviour, quality and safety for the public sector.

The Commons Public Administration Committee is urging the government to include the code in its long-awaited Civil Service Bill.

The aim is to allay concerns that the "public service ethos" is being lost as more services are contracted out to private sector companies.

In a report published on Sunday, the committee is also proposing that a Public Service Academy is established to foster the traditional spirit of the public service.

The group's Labour chairman Tony Wright said: "The right values, the right ethos, are fundamental to any organisation.

"The ethos of public service is special because it matters to all of us, users and providers.

'Safeguard'

"Our report makes it clear that, at a time of rapid change in public service, we need to do far more to nurture and cultivate the principles that underlie it."

The report warns the government had failed to develop a "consistent and coherent" policy on the role of private companies in delivering public services.

Concerns have been repeatedly raised by workers and unions about the use of the private sector to provide care to NHS patients.

And Prime Minister Tony Blair came under pressure in March after it emerged Downing Street had sent a booklet to managers in the health service, police and education outlining public sector reforms, including a greater role for private companies.

BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti says the committee believes that providing a formal definition of what constitutes the spirit of public service would be a good way of letting private managers know what is expected of them.

It would also ensure that private firms did not exploit their position by cutting costs, and would safeguard the interests of the public over and above those of the managers, she says.