The Change and Issues of British Civil Service in the Thatcher Government

Research Project

Project/Area Number	63520040
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Politics
Research Institution	Doshisha University
Principal Investigator	KIMIMURA Akira Doshisha Uni., Dep. of Law, Professor, 法学部, 教授 (50066148)
Project Period (FY)	1988 – 1989
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1989)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000) Fiscal Year 1989: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000) Fiscal Year 1988: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000)
Keywords	Civil Service / Accountable Management / Public Management / Political Neutrality / New right / Ministerial responsibility / Treasury control / Public Accountability / 政治的中立性 / 公共支出の削減 / 支出に見合う価値 / 公共支出 / 応答責任
Research Abstract	Since the Conservatives came to power in 1979, there have important change in British Civil Service. Prime Minister M. Thatcher committed to reducing the scope and size of government and revitalizing the private sector. She also desired to make civil service more productive and managerially competent. But more fundamentally, she arrived questioning the loyalty of powerful bureaucracies to her policy agendas. Therefore she has taken a great interest than previous prime ministers in appointments to the top most positions in the civil service. RIPA's report stated the appointment process has become more personalized.... However, we do not believe that these appointments and promotion are based on the candidate's support for or commitment to particular political ideologies or objectives". Despite Mrs. Thatcher's acquittal, two genuine problems remained. Firstly, younger people will tend to make their advice what ministers want to hear rather than what they need to know. Secondly, the impression of politicization undo the principle of politically neutral civil service. While most related issues were for political reasons, changes in the process of the civil service can be seen as an extension of developments beginning with the Rayner Scrutinies and moving through the Financial Management Initiative to Executive Agencies. In 1988, the Proposal of substantial delegation of departmental functions to autonomous and semi-autonomous agencies attracted renewed interest. But there remain two key pressures that inhibit radical change : the persistence of ministerial responsibility to Parliament and the stranglehold of Treasury control. These points exemplify how meaningful change in civil service is inextricably found to constitutional reform.