The Westminster Model:-
Impartiality, Accountability & all that
Civil servants operate within a complex constitutional framework. They are expected to be loyal to their current Ministers but must remain politically impartial and ready to switch allegiance when there is a change of government. They must also respect the role of Parliament and operate within numerous ethical constraints.
They also work within a wide range of ethical and other constraints which are taken very seriously by both senior staff and the wider public. This includes an ethical code which requires officials to be honest, impartial, challenging and collaborative. One of their key skills, therefore, is to achieve their objectives whilst observing both the letter and the spirit of their various obligations.
My book Civil Servants, Ministers and Parliament together with the free PDFs and web pages listed below contain a comprehensive description and discussion of the Westminster Model which governs the relationship between civil servants, ministers and Parliament. They provide an insightful and accessible description of civil servants’ duties, supplemented by comment and practical advice from experienced officials. They include, for instance, guidance on how to maintain political impartiality, and what civil servants should do (if anything) if ministers do not take their advice, or if ministers appear to be 'behaving badly'.
They also includes criticisms of the current framework and describes how civil servants may, as a result, be becoming increasingly accountable to Parliament.
- How do civil servants maintain political impartiality whilst working closely with ministers?
- What should civil servants should do (if anything) if ministers do not take their advice, or if ministers appear to be 'behaving badly'?
- To what extent are Government blunders the fault of the civil service?
- Why aren't MPs better at holding civil servants to account?
First: The Book
Readers and reviewers have commented:
- If you want a readable, comprehensive summary of the constitutional framework within which UK civil servants and politicians operate, there is no better primer than 'Civil Servants, Ministers and Parliament'. At under 170 pages, we're swiftly taken through rules, ethics and what happens when things go wrong. For an introduction to UK public governance, it a great place to start.
- "An excellent new publication. An authoritative insider's guide to the role of civil servants and their relationship with ministers and Parliament. ".
Civil Servants, Minsters and Parliament is currently on sale as an Amazon paperback and on Kindle.
Second: Free PDFs
1. Background, History & Further Reading
- Introduction
- The UK Constitution
- Burke, Green & Civil Service Ethics
- Northcote Trevelyan Reforms
- The Haldane Report
- 'Crichel Down'
- The Armstrong Memorandum
- The Osmotherly Rules
- The Carltona Principle
- The Seven Principles of Public Life (The Nolan Principles)
- Ministers' Duties
- Official Guidance & Further Reading
You can download this PDF for free.
Third: Web Pages
The United Kingdom has not been well governed in recent years - and possibly decades. Many politicians, think tanks, journalists and others argue that this is at least in part due to deficiencies within the Westminster Model in general, and and within the Civil Service in particular. There arguments are summarised and discussed in the Civil Service Reform section of this website.
These web pages are also relevant:-