British Civil Service
Encyclopedia
Her Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as the Home Civil Service, is the permanent bureaucracy
of Crown employees that supports Her Majesty's Government - the government of the United Kingdom
, composed of a Cabinet
of ministers
chosen by the prime minister
, as well as the devolved administrations
in Wales
(the Welsh Government), Scotland
(the Scottish Government) and Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Assembly
).
The executive
decisions of government ministers are implemented by Her Majesty's Civil Service. Civil servants are employees of the Crown and not Parliament. Civil servants also have some traditional and statutory
responsibilities which to some extent protect them from being used for the political advantage of the party in power. Senior civil servants may be called to account to Parliament.
In general use, the term civil servant in the United Kingdom
does not include all public sector
employees; although there is no fixed legal definition, the term is usually defined as "a servant of the Crown working in a civil capacity who is not the holder of a political (or judicial) office; the holder of certain other offices in respect of whose tenure of office special provision has been made; [or] a servant of the Crown in a personal capacity paid from the Civil List
". As such, the Civil Service does not include government ministers (who are politically appointed), members of the British Armed Forces
, police officer
s, local government
officials, members of the National Health Service
, or staff of the Royal Household
. As of 2007, there are approximately 532,000 (499,000 full-time equivalent
) civil servants in the Home Civil Service.
There are two other administratively separate civil services in the United Kingdom. One is for Northern Ireland
(the Northern Ireland Civil Service
); the other is the foreign service
(Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service
). The heads of these services are members of the Permanent Secretaries Management Group.
, and later the United Kingdom, piecemeal. Initially, as in other countries, they were little more than secretariats for their leaders, who held positions at court
. In the 18th century, in response to the growth of the British Empire
and economic changes, institutions such as the Office of Works
and the Navy Board
grew large. Each had its own system and staff were appointed by purchase or patronage. By the 19th century, it became increasingly clear that these arrangements were not working.
In 1806, the Honourable East India Company established a college, the East India Company College
, near London
. The purpose of this college was to train administrators; it was established on recommendation of officials in China
who had seen the imperial examination
system. The civil service, based on examination similar to the Chinese system, was advocated by a number of Englishmen over the next several decades.
A permanent, unified and politically neutral civil service, in which appointments were made on merit, was introduced on the recommendations of the Northcote-Trevelyan Report
of 1854, which also recommended a clear division between staff responsible for routine ("mechanical") work, and those engaged in policy formulation and implementation in an "administrative" class. The report was well-timed, because bureaucratic chaos in the Crimean War
promptly caused a clamour for the change. A Civil Service Commission
was accordingly set up in 1855 to oversee open recruitment and end patronage, and most of the other Northcote-Trevelyan recommendations were implemented over some years. This system was broadly endorsed by Commissions chaired by Playfair (1874), Ridley (1886), MacDonnell (1914), Tomlin (1931) and Priestley (1955).
The Northcote-Trevelyan model remained essentially stable for a hundred years. This was a tribute to its success in removing corruption, delivering public services (even under the stress of two world wars), and responding effectively to political change.
’s Strangers and Brothers
series of novels) that technical and scientific expertise was mushrooming, to a point at which the "good all-rounder" culture of the administrative civil servant with a classics or other arts degree could no longer properly engage with it: as late as 1963, for example, the Treasury had just 19 trained economists. The times were, moreover, ones of keen respect for technocracy, with the mass mobilisation of war having worked effectively, and the French National Plan apparently delivering economic success. And there was also a feeling which would not go away, following the war and the radical social reforms of the 1945 Labour government, that the so-called "mandarins
" of the higher civil service were too remote from the people. Indeed, between 1948 and 1963 only 3% of the recruits to the administrative class came from the working classes, and in 1966 more than half of the administrators at under-secretary level and above had been privately educated.
Lord Fulton
’s committee reported in 1968. He found that administrators were not professional enough, and in particular lacked management skills; that the position of technical and scientific experts needed to be rationalised and enhanced; and that the service was indeed too remote. His 158 recommendations included the introduction of a unified grading system for all categories of staff, a Civil Service College and a central policy planning unit. He also said that control of the service should be taken from the Treasury, and given to a new Department, and that the “fast stream” recruitment process for accessing the upper echelons should be made more flexible, to encourage candidates from less privileged backgrounds. The new Department was set up by Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labour Government in 1968 and named the Civil Service Department, known as CSD. The first Minister was Cabinet Minister Lord Shackleton, also Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal. The first Permanent Secretary was Sir William Armstrong, who moved over from his post as Permanent Secretary at the Treasury. After the 1970 General Election, new Conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath appointed Lord Jellicoe in Lord Shackleton's place.
Into Heath
's Downing Street
came the Central Policy Review Staff
(CPRS), and they were in particular given charge of a series of Programme Analysis and Review (PAR) studies of policy efficiency and effectiveness.
But, whether through lack of political will, or through passive resistance by a mandarinate which the report had suggested were “amateurs”, Fulton failed. The Civil Service College equipped generalists with additional skills, but did not turn them into qualified professionals as ENA
did in France. Recruits to the fast stream self-selected, with the universities of Oxford
and Cambridge
still producing a large majority of successful candidates, since the system continued to favour the tutorial system at Oxbridge
. The younger mandarins found excuses to avoid managerial jobs in favour of the more prestigious policy postings. The generalists remained on top, and the specialists on tap.
came to office in 1979 believing in free market
s as a better social system in many areas than the state: government should be small but active. Many of her ministers were suspicious of the civil service, in light of public choice research that suggested public servants tend to increase their own power and budgets.
She immediately set about reducing the size of the civil service, cutting numbers from 732,000 to 594,000 over her first seven years in office. Derek Rayner
, the former chief executive of Marks and Spencer, was appointed as an efficiency expert
with the Prime Minister's personal backing; he identified numerous problems with the Civil Service, arguing that only three billion of the eight billion pound
s a year spent at that time by the Civil Service consisted of essential services, and that the "mandarins" (senior civil servants) needed to focus on efficiency and management rather than on policy advice. In late 1981 the Prime Minister announced the abolition of the Civil Service Department, transferring power over the Civil Service to the Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet Office
.
Meanwhile Michael Heseltine
had introduced a comprehensive system of corporate and business planning (known as MINIS) first in the Department of the Environment
and then in the Ministry of Defence
.
A Financial Management Initiative was launched in September 1982 (Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Civil Service (Cmnd 8616)) as an umbrella for the efficiency scrutiny programme and with a wider focus on corporate planning, efficiency and objective-setting. But by the mid 1980s, although cuts had been made, transformation had not happened. In February 1988 Robin Ibbs
, recruited from ICI
in July 1983 to run the Efficiency Unit (now in No. 10), published his report Improving Management in Government: The Next Steps. This envisaged a new approach to delivery featuring clear targets and personal responsibility. Without any statutory change, the managerial functions of Ministries would be hived off into Executive Agencies
, with clear Framework Documents setting out their objectives, and whose chief executives would be made accountable directly (in some cases to Parliament) for performance. Agencies were to, as far as possible, take a commercial approach to their tasks. However, the Government conceded that agency staff would remain civil servants, which diluted the radicalism of the reform. The approach seems somewhat similar to the Swedish model, though no influence from Sweden has ever been acknowledged.
The Next Steps Initiative took some years to get off the ground, and progress was patchy. Significant change was achieved, although agencies never really achieved the level of autonomy envisaged at the start. Meanwhile, the accountability of the remaining civil servants began to be improved. MINIS-style business planning became standard, and delegated budgets were introduced, so that individual managers were for the first time held fully accountable for meeting objectives, and for the resources they used to do so. The Priestley Commission principle of pay comparability with the private sector had been abandoned in February 1982. Performance-related pay
began in December 1984, was built on thereafter, and continues to this day.
Next Steps may always have had the ultimate goal of privatisation. Certainly, the focus on smaller, more accountable, units revived the keenness of Ministerial interest in the perceived efficiencies of the private sector. Already in the late 1980s, some common services once set up in the expectation of economies of scale, such as the Property Services Agency
or the Crown Suppliers, were being dismantled or sold off. Next, shortly after Thatcher left office, in July 1991, a new programme of market-testing of central government services began, with the White Paper Competing for Quality (Cm 1730). Five-yearly or three-yearly policy and finance reviews of all agencies and other public bodies were instituted, where the first question to be answered (the “prior options exercise") was why the function should not be abolished or privatised. Strategic contracting-out also took place, where the Government did not wait to examine whether a private sector solution would be more efficient, but went ahead with it on the principle that the private sector was always more efficient and more responsive. For example, the Government's internal Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency
(CCTA), a civil-service staffed consultancy which monitored and directed internal government IT projects was closed down as it was leading the fight to retain internal expertise. This has led to most IT services within the UK Government being managed by private companies; the US firm EDS
now has a large proportion of the total, which some have suggested gives it the capacity to manipulate pricing, or even be a strategic threat to UK interests. In November 1991 the Private Finance Initiative
was launched, and by November 1994 the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had referred to it as ‘the funding mechanism of choice for most public sector projects’. In 1995 the decision was taken to privatise the Chessington Computer Centre, HMSO, the Occupational Health & Safety Agency and Recruitment & Assessment Services.
sought to tackle this with a Citizen's Charter
programme. This sought to empower the service user, by setting out rights to standards in each service area, and arrangements for compensation when these were not met. An Office of Public Service and Science was set up in 1992, to see that the Charter policy was implemented across government.
By 1998, 42 Charters had been published, and they included services provided by public service industries such as the health service and the railways, as well as by the civil service. The programme was also expanded to apply to other organisations such as local government or housing associations, through a scheme of “Chartermark” awards. The programme was greeted with some derision, and it is true that the compensation sometimes hardly seemed worth the effort of claiming, and that the service standards were rarely set with much consumer input. But the initiative did have a significant effect in changing cultures, and paradoxically the spin-off Chartermark initiative may have had more impact on local organisations uncertain about what standards to aim for, than the parent Citizen's Charter programme itself.
, currently David Cameron
.
and Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office
. The position holder is accountable for ensuring that the Civil Service is equipped with the skills and capability to meet the everyday challenges it faces and that civil servants work in a fair and decent environment. He also chairs the Permanent Secretary Management Group and the Civil Service Steering Board which are the main governing bodies of the Civil Service.
It was announced on 11 October 2011 that, following Sir Gus' retirement at the end of 2011, the role of Head of the Home Civil Service will be split from the job of Cabinet Secretary. There will additionally be a new, separate, Permanent Secretary to lead the Cabinet Office.
and other selected permanent secretaries and directors general. This includes Bruce Robinson, the current Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, and Simon Fraser
, the current Head of the Diplomatic Service.
Their main role is regarding the recruitment of civil servants. They have the responsibility to ensure that all civil servants are recruited on the “principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.” They maintain a recruitment code on the interpretation and application of that principle, and approve any exceptions to it. They audit recruitment policies and practices within the Civil Service and approve all appointments to the most senior levels of the Civil Service.
The Commissioners also hear and determine appeals in cases of concern about propriety and conscience raised by civil servants under the Civil Service Code which cannot be resolved through internal procedures.
Northern Ireland has a separate Commission called the Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland which does the same role.
Like all servants of the Crown
, civil servants are legally barred from standing for election as Members of Parliament or any other political office. Also, under regulations first adopted in 1954 and revised in 1984, members of the Senior Civil Service (the top management grades) are barred from holding office in a political party
or publicly expressing controversial political viewpoints, while less senior civil servants at an intermediate (managerial) level must generally seek permission to participate in political activities. The most junior civil servants are permitted to participate in political activities, but must be politically neutral in the exercise of their duties.
All civil servants are subject to the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989, meaning that they may not disclose sensitive government information. Since 1998, there have also been restrictions on contact between civil servants and lobbyists; this followed an incident known as "Lobbygate", where an undercover reporter for The Observer
, posing as a business
leader, was introduced by a lobbyist to a senior Downing Street
official who promised privileged access to government ministers. The Committee on Standards in Public Life
, also created in 1998, is responsible for regulation of contacts between public officials and lobbyists.
One criticism of Civil Service neutrality in recent years has centred around the increasing influence of politically-appointed "special advisers" in government departments, which is alleged to have reduced the political neutrality of public administration. In 2000, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair
was criticised for appointing 20 special advisers (compared to eight under his predecessor John Major
) and for the fact that the total salary
cost of special advisers across all government departments had reached £4 million. In 2001, Stephen Byers
, then Secretary of State for Transport
, was forced to resign because of the actions of his special adviser Jo Moore
, who instructed a departmental civil servant, Martin Sixsmith, that September 11th 2001 would be "a good day to bury bad news"; this was seen as inappropriate political manipulation of the Civil Service. In particular, under the administration of Tony Blair
, the influence of two Downing Street
special advisers, Jonathan Powell
and Alastair Campbell
, both of whom were given formal power over Downing Street civil servants, provoked widespread criticism.
set out guidance on how civil servants should respond to Parliamentary select committees.
has a Department
which has executive agencies
and non-departmental public bodies subordinate to it.
on behalf of the civil service as a whole. Below the Senior Civil Service, each individual department/executive agency can put in place its own grading and pay arrangements, provided they still comply with the central civil service pay and review guidance.
The Senior Civil Service Grade structure is:
is the Central London
street on which many ministries sit. Whitehall is therefore often used as a metonym to refer to the executive branch of UK Government, and particularly the civil service (somewhat as in earlier days European foreign ministries were referred to by their addresses as "the Quai d'Orsay
", "Wilhelmstraße
" or "the Sublime Porte"). This contrasts with Westminster
, which is used similarly to refer to the Houses of Parliament, and "Downing Street
" or simply "No. 10" which is used for the Prime Minister's office.
The BBC
television series Yes Minister
and Yes Prime Minister are a parody
of the Civil Service
and its relationship with government ministers. The portrayal is a caricature, but many insiders recognise a considerable element of truth in it, and though the Civil Service reforms since the 1980s have made the portrayal of powerful civil servants like Nigel Hawthorne
's Sir Humphrey Appleby
increasingly out-of date, the programme continues to have many legions of loyal fans, including ex-Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
. The Thick Of It
is a similar BBC television series that has been called "the 21st century's answer to Yes Minister", first broadcast in 2005. The series portrays a modernised version of the interactions between the Civil Service and the Government (chiefly in the form of spin doctors
), as well as the media's involvement in the process.
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
of Crown employees that supports Her Majesty's Government - the government of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, composed of a Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
of ministers
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
chosen by the prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, as well as the devolved administrations
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(the Welsh Government), Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(the Scottish Government) and Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
).
The executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
decisions of government ministers are implemented by Her Majesty's Civil Service. Civil servants are employees of the Crown and not Parliament. Civil servants also have some traditional and statutory
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
responsibilities which to some extent protect them from being used for the political advantage of the party in power. Senior civil servants may be called to account to Parliament.
In general use, the term civil servant in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
does not include all public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
employees; although there is no fixed legal definition, the term is usually defined as "a servant of the Crown working in a civil capacity who is not the holder of a political (or judicial) office; the holder of certain other offices in respect of whose tenure of office special provision has been made; [or] a servant of the Crown in a personal capacity paid from the Civil List
Civil list
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, the Civil List is the name given to the annual grant that covers some expenses associated with the Sovereign performing their official duties, including those for staff salaries, State Visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions and the upkeep of the...
". As such, the Civil Service does not include government ministers (who are politically appointed), members of the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
, police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s, local government
Local government in the United Kingdom
The pattern of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, because England does not have a devolved...
officials, members of the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
, or staff of the Royal Household
Royal Households of the United Kingdom
The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the organised offices and support systems for the British Royal Family, along with their immediate families...
. As of 2007, there are approximately 532,000 (499,000 full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
) civil servants in the Home Civil Service.
There are two other administratively separate civil services in the United Kingdom. One is for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
(the Northern Ireland Civil Service
Northern Ireland Civil Service
The Northern Ireland Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved government of Northern Ireland....
); the other is the foreign service
Diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to other countries...
(Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service
Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service
Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom, dealing with foreign affairs, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which deals with domestic affairs...
). The heads of these services are members of the Permanent Secretaries Management Group.
Establishment
Offices of state grew in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and later the United Kingdom, piecemeal. Initially, as in other countries, they were little more than secretariats for their leaders, who held positions at court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
. In the 18th century, in response to the growth of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and economic changes, institutions such as the Office of Works
Office of Works
The Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings...
and the Navy Board
Navy Board
The Navy Board is today the body responsible for the day-to-day running of the British Royal Navy. Its composition is identical to that of the Admiralty Board of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom, except that it does not include any of Her Majesty's Ministers.From 1546 to 1831, the Navy...
grew large. Each had its own system and staff were appointed by purchase or patronage. By the 19th century, it became increasingly clear that these arrangements were not working.
In 1806, the Honourable East India Company established a college, the East India Company College
East India Company College
The East India College was a college in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in February 1806 as the training establishment for the British East India Company . At that time, the BEIC provided general and vocational education for young gentlemen of sixteen to eighteen years old,...
, near London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The purpose of this college was to train administrators; it was established on recommendation of officials in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
who had seen the imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
system. The civil service, based on examination similar to the Chinese system, was advocated by a number of Englishmen over the next several decades.
A permanent, unified and politically neutral civil service, in which appointments were made on merit, was introduced on the recommendations of the Northcote-Trevelyan Report
Northcote-Trevelyan Report
The Northcote-Trevelyan Report was a document prepared by Stafford H. Northcote and C.E. Trevelyan in 1853 that catalyzed the development of Her Majesty's Civil Service in the United Kingdom due to the influence of the ancient Chinese Imperial Examination....
of 1854, which also recommended a clear division between staff responsible for routine ("mechanical") work, and those engaged in policy formulation and implementation in an "administrative" class. The report was well-timed, because bureaucratic chaos in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
promptly caused a clamour for the change. A Civil Service Commission
Civil Service Commission
-Chairmen:*John Houghton MHK, 2004-date*George Waft MLC, 1996-2004*Clare Christian MLC, 1981-1982*Noel Cringle MLC, 1992-1996*Walter Gilbey, years unknown...
was accordingly set up in 1855 to oversee open recruitment and end patronage, and most of the other Northcote-Trevelyan recommendations were implemented over some years. This system was broadly endorsed by Commissions chaired by Playfair (1874), Ridley (1886), MacDonnell (1914), Tomlin (1931) and Priestley (1955).
The Northcote-Trevelyan model remained essentially stable for a hundred years. This was a tribute to its success in removing corruption, delivering public services (even under the stress of two world wars), and responding effectively to political change.
Lord Fulton's committee report
Following the Second World War, however, demands for change again grew. There was a concern (illustrated in C. P. SnowC. P. Snow
Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of the City of Leicester CBE was an English physicist and novelist who also served in several important positions with the UK government...
’s Strangers and Brothers
Strangers and Brothers
Strangers and Brothers is a series of novels by C. P. Snow, published between 1940 and 1974. They deal with – amongst other things – questions of political and personal integrity, and the mechanics of exercising power....
series of novels) that technical and scientific expertise was mushrooming, to a point at which the "good all-rounder" culture of the administrative civil servant with a classics or other arts degree could no longer properly engage with it: as late as 1963, for example, the Treasury had just 19 trained economists. The times were, moreover, ones of keen respect for technocracy, with the mass mobilisation of war having worked effectively, and the French National Plan apparently delivering economic success. And there was also a feeling which would not go away, following the war and the radical social reforms of the 1945 Labour government, that the so-called "mandarins
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
" of the higher civil service were too remote from the people. Indeed, between 1948 and 1963 only 3% of the recruits to the administrative class came from the working classes, and in 1966 more than half of the administrators at under-secretary level and above had been privately educated.
Lord Fulton
John Fulton, Baron Fulton
John Scott Fulton, Baron Fulton was a British university administrator and public servant. In education, he served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales and of the University of Sussex, and was chair of the Universities Central Council on Admissions between 1961 and 1964...
’s committee reported in 1968. He found that administrators were not professional enough, and in particular lacked management skills; that the position of technical and scientific experts needed to be rationalised and enhanced; and that the service was indeed too remote. His 158 recommendations included the introduction of a unified grading system for all categories of staff, a Civil Service College and a central policy planning unit. He also said that control of the service should be taken from the Treasury, and given to a new Department, and that the “fast stream” recruitment process for accessing the upper echelons should be made more flexible, to encourage candidates from less privileged backgrounds. The new Department was set up by Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labour Government in 1968 and named the Civil Service Department, known as CSD. The first Minister was Cabinet Minister Lord Shackleton, also Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal. The first Permanent Secretary was Sir William Armstrong, who moved over from his post as Permanent Secretary at the Treasury. After the 1970 General Election, new Conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath appointed Lord Jellicoe in Lord Shackleton's place.
Into Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
's Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
came the Central Policy Review Staff
Central Policy Review Staff
The Central Policy Review Staff , nicknamed the "Think-Tank", was an independent unit within the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom tasked with developing long term strategy and co-ordinating policy across government departments...
(CPRS), and they were in particular given charge of a series of Programme Analysis and Review (PAR) studies of policy efficiency and effectiveness.
But, whether through lack of political will, or through passive resistance by a mandarinate which the report had suggested were “amateurs”, Fulton failed. The Civil Service College equipped generalists with additional skills, but did not turn them into qualified professionals as ENA
École nationale d'administration
The École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...
did in France. Recruits to the fast stream self-selected, with the universities of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
still producing a large majority of successful candidates, since the system continued to favour the tutorial system at Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
. The younger mandarins found excuses to avoid managerial jobs in favour of the more prestigious policy postings. The generalists remained on top, and the specialists on tap.
Margaret Thatcher's government
Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
came to office in 1979 believing in free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
s as a better social system in many areas than the state: government should be small but active. Many of her ministers were suspicious of the civil service, in light of public choice research that suggested public servants tend to increase their own power and budgets.
She immediately set about reducing the size of the civil service, cutting numbers from 732,000 to 594,000 over her first seven years in office. Derek Rayner
Lord Derek Rayner
Derek George Rayner, Baron Rayner was a chairman and chief executive of Marks & Spencer plc , one of the major British retailers who revived and rapidly expanded the company in the 1980s...
, the former chief executive of Marks and Spencer, was appointed as an efficiency expert
Efficiency expert
Efficiency expert may refer to:*Ergonomics expert*Business efficiency expert; see also, Layoffs*The Efficiency Expert, a 1921 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs-See also:...
with the Prime Minister's personal backing; he identified numerous problems with the Civil Service, arguing that only three billion of the eight billion pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
s a year spent at that time by the Civil Service consisted of essential services, and that the "mandarins" (senior civil servants) needed to focus on efficiency and management rather than on policy advice. In late 1981 the Prime Minister announced the abolition of the Civil Service Department, transferring power over the Civil Service to the Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
.
Meanwhile Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
had introduced a comprehensive system of corporate and business planning (known as MINIS) first in the Department of the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
and then in the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
.
A Financial Management Initiative was launched in September 1982 (Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Civil Service (Cmnd 8616)) as an umbrella for the efficiency scrutiny programme and with a wider focus on corporate planning, efficiency and objective-setting. But by the mid 1980s, although cuts had been made, transformation had not happened. In February 1988 Robin Ibbs
Robin Ibbs
Sir John "Robin" Ibbs, KBE is an English banker. He was Chairman of Lloyds Bank from 1993 to 1997 and of Lloyds TSB Group PLC from 1995 to 1997.-Life:...
, recruited from ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
in July 1983 to run the Efficiency Unit (now in No. 10), published his report Improving Management in Government: The Next Steps. This envisaged a new approach to delivery featuring clear targets and personal responsibility. Without any statutory change, the managerial functions of Ministries would be hived off into Executive Agencies
Executive agency
An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland...
, with clear Framework Documents setting out their objectives, and whose chief executives would be made accountable directly (in some cases to Parliament) for performance. Agencies were to, as far as possible, take a commercial approach to their tasks. However, the Government conceded that agency staff would remain civil servants, which diluted the radicalism of the reform. The approach seems somewhat similar to the Swedish model, though no influence from Sweden has ever been acknowledged.
The Next Steps Initiative took some years to get off the ground, and progress was patchy. Significant change was achieved, although agencies never really achieved the level of autonomy envisaged at the start. Meanwhile, the accountability of the remaining civil servants began to be improved. MINIS-style business planning became standard, and delegated budgets were introduced, so that individual managers were for the first time held fully accountable for meeting objectives, and for the resources they used to do so. The Priestley Commission principle of pay comparability with the private sector had been abandoned in February 1982. Performance-related pay
Performance-related pay
Performance-related pay is money paid to someone relating to how well one works. Car salesmen, production line workers, for example, may be paid in this way, or through commission....
began in December 1984, was built on thereafter, and continues to this day.
Next Steps may always have had the ultimate goal of privatisation. Certainly, the focus on smaller, more accountable, units revived the keenness of Ministerial interest in the perceived efficiencies of the private sector. Already in the late 1980s, some common services once set up in the expectation of economies of scale, such as the Property Services Agency
Property Services Agency
The Property Services Agency was an agency of the United Kingdom government, in existence from 1972 to 1993. Its role was to “provide, manage, maintain, and furnish the property used by the government, including defence establishments, offices, courts, research laboratories, training centres and...
or the Crown Suppliers, were being dismantled or sold off. Next, shortly after Thatcher left office, in July 1991, a new programme of market-testing of central government services began, with the White Paper Competing for Quality (Cm 1730). Five-yearly or three-yearly policy and finance reviews of all agencies and other public bodies were instituted, where the first question to be answered (the “prior options exercise") was why the function should not be abolished or privatised. Strategic contracting-out also took place, where the Government did not wait to examine whether a private sector solution would be more efficient, but went ahead with it on the principle that the private sector was always more efficient and more responsive. For example, the Government's internal Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency
Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency
The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency was a UK government agency providing computer and telecoms support to Government departments.-Formation:...
(CCTA), a civil-service staffed consultancy which monitored and directed internal government IT projects was closed down as it was leading the fight to retain internal expertise. This has led to most IT services within the UK Government being managed by private companies; the US firm EDS
Electronic Data Systems
HP Enterprise Services is the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard's HP Enterprise Business strategic business unit. It was formed by the combination of HP's legacy services consulting and outsourcing business and the integration of acquired Electronic Data Systems,...
now has a large proportion of the total, which some have suggested gives it the capacity to manipulate pricing, or even be a strategic threat to UK interests. In November 1991 the Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
was launched, and by November 1994 the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
had referred to it as ‘the funding mechanism of choice for most public sector projects’. In 1995 the decision was taken to privatise the Chessington Computer Centre, HMSO, the Occupational Health & Safety Agency and Recruitment & Assessment Services.
The Citizen's Charter
It was believed with the Thatcher reforms that efficiency was improving. But there was still a perception of carelessness and lack of responsiveness in the quality of public services. The government of John MajorJohn Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
sought to tackle this with a Citizen's Charter
Citizen's Charter
The Citizen's Charter was a British political initiative launched by the then Prime Minister, John Major, on 22 July 1991, less than a year into his premiership.It aimed to improve public services in the UK by:...
programme. This sought to empower the service user, by setting out rights to standards in each service area, and arrangements for compensation when these were not met. An Office of Public Service and Science was set up in 1992, to see that the Charter policy was implemented across government.
By 1998, 42 Charters had been published, and they included services provided by public service industries such as the health service and the railways, as well as by the civil service. The programme was also expanded to apply to other organisations such as local government or housing associations, through a scheme of “Chartermark” awards. The programme was greeted with some derision, and it is true that the compensation sometimes hardly seemed worth the effort of claiming, and that the service standards were rarely set with much consumer input. But the initiative did have a significant effect in changing cultures, and paradoxically the spin-off Chartermark initiative may have had more impact on local organisations uncertain about what standards to aim for, than the parent Citizen's Charter programme itself.
Minister for the Civil Service
The position of 'Minister for the Civil Service' is not part of the Civil Service as it is a political position which has always been held by the Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, currently David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
Head of the Home Civil Service
The highest ranking civil servant is the Head of the Home Civil Service who is also the Cabinet SecretaryCabinet Secretary
A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service...
and Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
. The position holder is accountable for ensuring that the Civil Service is equipped with the skills and capability to meet the everyday challenges it faces and that civil servants work in a fair and decent environment. He also chairs the Permanent Secretary Management Group and the Civil Service Steering Board which are the main governing bodies of the Civil Service.
It was announced on 11 October 2011 that, following Sir Gus' retirement at the end of 2011, the role of Head of the Home Civil Service will be split from the job of Cabinet Secretary. There will additionally be a new, separate, Permanent Secretary to lead the Cabinet Office.
| Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Warren Fisher Warren Fisher Sir Warren Fisher was a British civil servant.Fisher was born in Croydon, London on 22 September 1879. He was educated at the Dragon School , Winchester College and Hertford College, Oxford University... |
1919–1939 | |
| Sir Horace Wilson | 1939–1942 | |
| Sir Edward Bridges | 1945–1956 | |
| Sir Norman Brook Norman Brook, 1st Baron Normanbrook Norman Craven Brook, 1st Baron Normanbrook GCB, PC , known as Sir Norman Brook between 1946 and 1964, was a British civil servant... |
1956-1963 | |
| Sir Laurence Helsby Laurence Helsby, Baron Helsby Laurence Norman Helsby, Baron Helsby GCB KBE was a British civil servant.-Life:Laurence Norman Helsby was born on 27 April 1908 and educated at Sedbergh School in Cumbria, before studying at Keble College, Oxford... |
1963-1968 | |
| Sir William Armstrong William Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Sanderstead William Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Sanderstead GCB, MVO, PC was a British civil servant and banker.The son of William Armstrong and Priscilla Hopkins, he was born in Clapton in London. Armstrong was educated at Bec School in Tooting and Exeter College, Oxford... |
1968–1974 | |
| Sir Douglas Allen Douglas Allen, Baron Croham Douglas Albert Vivian Allen, Baron Croham GCB, was a British politician and civil servant.The son of Albert John Allen, Douglas Allen was only one when his father was killed in action during the First World War... |
1974–1978 | |
| Sir Ian Bancroft Ian Bancroft, Baron Bancroft Ian Powell Bancroft, Baron Bancroft was a British senior civil servant.He was born at Barrow-in-Furness, the son of a teacher. He was educated at Sir William Turner's Grammar School, Coatham and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read English... |
1978-1981 | |
| Sir Douglas Wass Douglas Wass Sir Douglas Wass was Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury from 1974 to 1983 and served as joint head of the civil service in 1981.- External Links :*... |
1981-1983 | |
| Sir Robert Armstrong Robert Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster Robert Temple Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster GCB, CVO , son of the musician Sir Thomas Armstrong, is a British life peer and former civil servant.-Life:... |
1981-1988 | The position of Head of the Home Civil Service was combined with that of Cabinet Secretary Cabinet Secretary A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service... in 1981 |
| Sir Robin Butler Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell Frederick Edward Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, is a retired British civil servant, now sitting in the House of Lords as a Life Peer.-Life:Butler was born in Lytham St Annes on on 3 January, 1938... |
1988–1998 | |
| Sir Richard Wilson Richard Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton Richard Thomas James Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton GCB is a cross bench member of the British House of Lords.-Career:... |
1998–2002 | |
| Sir Andrew Turnbull Andrew Turnbull, Baron Turnbull Andrew Turnbull, Baron Turnbull, KCB, CVO was the head of Her Majesty's Civil Service and Cabinet Secretary between 2002 and 2005 when he was succeeded by Sir Gus O'Donnell.... |
2002–2005 | |
| Sir Gus O'Donnell Gus O'Donnell Sir Augustine Thomas "Gus" O'Donnell GCB is a British civil servant, who is the current Cabinet Secretary, the highest rank in the British Civil Service. He is consequently, under current practice, Head of the Civil Service, which means he has authority over all civil servants except those who are... |
2005–2011 | |
| Sir Bob Kerslake Bob Kerslake Sir Robert Kerslake , is the permanent secretary of the Communities and Local Government department of the UK government.-Career:Originally from Bath, he graduated in Mathematics from the University of Warwick, where he was also secretary of the students' union, later qualifying as a member of the... |
2012 onwards | Head of the Home Civil Service to be split from Cabinet Secretary. |
Permanent Secretaries Management Group (PSMG)
The PSMG consider issues of strategic importance to the Civil Service as a whole, as well as providing corporate leadership where a single position is required across all government departments. It is chaired by Head of the Home Civil Service and consists of all first permanent secretariesPermanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
and other selected permanent secretaries and directors general. This includes Bruce Robinson, the current Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, and Simon Fraser
Simon Fraser
Simon Fraser may refer to:Universities:* Simon Fraser University, a university named for the explorer in British Columbia* Simon Fraser Clan, the athletic program of Simon Fraser UniversityLords Lovat:...
, the current Head of the Diplomatic Service.
Civil Service Steering Board (CSSB)
The CSSB was established in 2007 and meets monthly, Its role is to enhance the performance and reputation of the Civil Service by focusing on specific areas delegated to it by PSMG. The CSSB is chaired by Head of the Home Civil Service.Civil Service Commissioners
The Civil Service Commissioners are not civil servants and are independent of Ministers, they are appointed directly by the Crown under Royal Prerogative and they report annually to The Queen.Their main role is regarding the recruitment of civil servants. They have the responsibility to ensure that all civil servants are recruited on the “principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.” They maintain a recruitment code on the interpretation and application of that principle, and approve any exceptions to it. They audit recruitment policies and practices within the Civil Service and approve all appointments to the most senior levels of the Civil Service.
The Commissioners also hear and determine appeals in cases of concern about propriety and conscience raised by civil servants under the Civil Service Code which cannot be resolved through internal procedures.
Northern Ireland has a separate Commission called the Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland which does the same role.
Political neutrality
The Home Civil Service is a politically neutral body, with the function of impartially implementing the policy programme of the elected government.Like all servants of the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
, civil servants are legally barred from standing for election as Members of Parliament or any other political office. Also, under regulations first adopted in 1954 and revised in 1984, members of the Senior Civil Service (the top management grades) are barred from holding office in a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
or publicly expressing controversial political viewpoints, while less senior civil servants at an intermediate (managerial) level must generally seek permission to participate in political activities. The most junior civil servants are permitted to participate in political activities, but must be politically neutral in the exercise of their duties.
All civil servants are subject to the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989, meaning that they may not disclose sensitive government information. Since 1998, there have also been restrictions on contact between civil servants and lobbyists; this followed an incident known as "Lobbygate", where an undercover reporter for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, posing as a business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
leader, was introduced by a lobbyist to a senior Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
official who promised privileged access to government ministers. The Committee on Standards in Public Life
Committee on Standards in Public Life
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government.The Committee on Standards in Public Life is constituted as a standing body with its members appointed for up to three years.-History:...
, also created in 1998, is responsible for regulation of contacts between public officials and lobbyists.
One criticism of Civil Service neutrality in recent years has centred around the increasing influence of politically-appointed "special advisers" in government departments, which is alleged to have reduced the political neutrality of public administration. In 2000, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
was criticised for appointing 20 special advisers (compared to eight under his predecessor John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
) and for the fact that the total salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
cost of special advisers across all government departments had reached £4 million. In 2001, Stephen Byers
Stephen Byers
Stephen John Byers is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for North Tyneside from 1997 to 2010; in the previous parliament, from 1992, he represented Wallsend...
, then Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
, was forced to resign because of the actions of his special adviser Jo Moore
Jo Moore
Jo Moore served as a British special adviser and press officer . She was embroiled in scandal while working as advisor to Stephen Byers, the Transport, Local Government and Regions Secretary....
, who instructed a departmental civil servant, Martin Sixsmith, that September 11th 2001 would be "a good day to bury bad news"; this was seen as inappropriate political manipulation of the Civil Service. In particular, under the administration of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, the influence of two Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
special advisers, Jonathan Powell
Jonathan Powell (chief of staff to Tony Blair)
Jonathan Nicholas Powell is a British diplomat who served as the first Downing Street Chief of Staff, under British Prime Minister Tony Blair throughout his premiership, from his election in 1997 until his resignation in 2007...
and Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, having first started working for Blair in 1994...
, both of whom were given formal power over Downing Street civil servants, provoked widespread criticism.
Civil Service Code
A current civil service code was introduced on 6 June 2006 to outline the core values and standards expected of civil servants. The core values are defined as integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality. A key change from previous values is the removal of anonymity within the core values. The Code includes an independent line of appeal to the Civil Service Commissioners on alleged breaches of the Code.Civil Service Management Code
The Civil Service Management Code (CSMC) sets out the regulations and instructions to departments and agencies regarding the terms and conditions of service of civil servants. It is the guiding document which gives delegation to civil service organisations, from the Minister for the Civil Service, in order for them to make internal personnel policies.Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code
The Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code is maintained by the Civil Service Commissioners and is based on the principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.Osmotherly Rules
The Osmotherly RulesOsmotherly Rules
The Osmotherly Rules, named for their author, a civil servant in the Machinery of Government Division of the British Cabinet Office named E.B.C. Osmotherly, are a set of internal guidelines specifying how government departments should provide evidence to Parliamentary select committees...
set out guidance on how civil servants should respond to Parliamentary select committees.
Structure
The structure of the home civil service is divided into organisations and grades. Each Secretary of StateSecretary of State (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department ....
has a Department
Departments of the United Kingdom Government
Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
which has executive agencies
Executive agency
An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland...
and non-departmental public bodies subordinate to it.
Grading schemes
The grading system used in the civil service has changed many times, and the current structure is made up of two schemes. All senior grades (Deputy Director / Grade 5 level and above) are part of the Senior Civil Service, which is overseen by the Cabinet OfficeCabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
on behalf of the civil service as a whole. Below the Senior Civil Service, each individual department/executive agency can put in place its own grading and pay arrangements, provided they still comply with the central civil service pay and review guidance.
The Senior Civil Service Grade structure is:
| Pay Band/Grade | Title |
|---|---|
| Permanent Secretary | Cabinet Secretary Cabinet Secretary A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service... |
| Permanent Secretary Permanent Secretary The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis... |
|
| SCS Pay Band 3 | Director General |
| SCS Pay Band 2 | Director |
| SCS Pay Band 1 | Deputy Director |
Miscellaneous
WhitehallWhitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
is the Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
street on which many ministries sit. Whitehall is therefore often used as a metonym to refer to the executive branch of UK Government, and particularly the civil service (somewhat as in earlier days European foreign ministries were referred to by their addresses as "the Quai d'Orsay
Quai d'Orsay
The Quai d'Orsay is a quai in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris, part of the left bank of the Seine, and the name of the street along it. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai de Branly west of the Pont de l'Alma.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is...
", "Wilhelmstraße
Wilhelmstraße
The Wilhelmstrasse is a street in the center of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Between the mid 19th century and 1945, it was the administrative centre, first of the Kingdom of Prussia and then of the unified German state, housing in particular the Reich Chancellery and the Foreign Office...
" or "the Sublime Porte"). This contrasts with Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, which is used similarly to refer to the Houses of Parliament, and "Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
" or simply "No. 10" which is used for the Prime Minister's office.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series Yes Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
and Yes Prime Minister are a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
and its relationship with government ministers. The portrayal is a caricature, but many insiders recognise a considerable element of truth in it, and though the Civil Service reforms since the 1980s have made the portrayal of powerful civil servants like Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
's Sir Humphrey Appleby
Humphrey Appleby
Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA , is a fictional character from the British television series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. He was played by Sir Nigel Hawthorne. In Yes Minister, he is the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Administrative Affairs...
increasingly out-of date, the programme continues to have many legions of loyal fans, including ex-Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. The Thick Of It
The Thick of It
The Thick of It is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of modern British government. It was first broadcast on BBC Four in 2005, and has so far completed fourteen half-hour episodes and two special hour-long episodes to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's...
is a similar BBC television series that has been called "the 21st century's answer to Yes Minister", first broadcast in 2005. The series portrays a modernised version of the interactions between the Civil Service and the Government (chiefly in the form of spin doctors
Spin Doctors
Spin Doctors is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits, "Two Princes," and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," which peaked the Billboard Hot 100 charts at #7 & #17 respectively....
), as well as the media's involvement in the process.
See also
- Departments of the United Kingdom GovernmentDepartments of the United Kingdom GovernmentHer Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
- Her Majesty's Diplomatic ServiceHer Majesty's Diplomatic ServiceHer Majesty's Diplomatic Service is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom, dealing with foreign affairs, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which deals with domestic affairs...
- Northern Ireland Civil ServiceNorthern Ireland Civil ServiceThe Northern Ireland Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved government of Northern Ireland....
- Public administrationPublic administrationPublic Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
- Permanent SecretaryPermanent SecretaryThe Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
- Private SecretaryPrivate SecretaryIn the United Kingdom government, a Private Secretary is a civil servant in a Department or Ministry, responsible to the Secretary of State or Minister...
- Cabinet OfficeCabinet OfficeThe Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
- Public and Commercial Services UnionPublic and Commercial Services UnionThe Public and Commercial Services Union is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in government departments and other public bodies although some work for private companies.- Membership and organisation :...
(PCS) - FDA
External links
- Site explaining what being a civil servant is all about, maintained by a senior public official, Martin Stanley
- Official Civil Service website
- Academic article on the first fifteen years of the Citizen's Charter
- The National Archives - Operational Selection Policy 24 - (which lists by date issues and events from March 1974 to 2000 relating to the machinery of Government and Civil Service management the key records of which should be preserved)
- Cabinet Office - Main Site
- Cabinet Office - How Government Works
- Directory of Civil Service Guidance
- BBC brief on the British Civil Service - h2g2H2g2h2g2 is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project engaged in the construction of, in its own words, "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the science fiction comedy series...
- Guardian Special Report - Civil Service