Core Principles of the Civil Service
- Created by: MeganRedwin
- Created on: 12-02-16 09:07
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- Core Principles of the Civil Servants
- Permanence
- Matthew Hancock (Minister of the Cabinet) said that you must "recruit and retain the best"
- The Civil Servants provide valuable continuity to the nation, esp. in big time of change for Parliament (e.g. Election or reshuffle)
- It allows them to offer the most honest advice without fear of dismissal
- Subsequently, it was regarded as a "job for life", this resulted in flatness, a lack of ambition and drive. Thus a "Fix term" contract has been introduced, threatening this principle.
- Neutrality/Impartiality
- Civil Servants must not let their own political opinions shape their decisions.
- If they were to become noticeably partisan, it may damage the process.
- They are occasionaly moved to different departments to ensure that they don't become too loyal to their Minister
- This principle is criticised in 2 different ways:
- 1- It is hard to be 100% neutral because they all come from the same social and economic backgrounds
- 2. Civil Servants tend to be "Neutral on the side of government", the ideology that because they are involved in the decision making, the are favourable towards it.
- Civil Servants must not let their own political opinions shape their decisions.
- Anonymity
- The public or media should not be able to identify and thus blame an individual Civil Servant for any governmental decisions they have been involved in
- Individual Ministerial Responsibility means that Cabinet Ministers are accountable for their Ministries.
- There are 2 types of critic evaluation on this principle:
- 1. That the principle provides a shield for Civil Servants to hide behind
- 2. Others recognise that they are being increasingly identified, by being asked to appear before parliamentary committees and having their names reported by media.
- Confidentiality
- Every Civil Servant signs the Official Secrets Act (introduced in 1923 and altered in 1989), with the intent of securing information that could be a threat to the nation.
- They are restricted from giving information to friends, family, media, foreign powers and even Parliament.
- Sarah Tisdall (working for the MOD) announced the arrival of US missiles in Greenham Common in 1983, resulting in years of protests.
- David Shayler was found guilty and sentenced to 6 months in prison in 2002 for revealing information to the media about the activities of our intelligence agencies, especially MI5
- Permanence
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