United Kingdom Public Administration

7/31/2019 United Kingdom Public Administration

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All papers, statistics and materials contained in the Country Profiles express entirely the opinion of the mentioned authors.They should not, unless otherwise mentioned, be attributed to the Secretariat of the United Nations.

The designations employed and the presentation of material on maps in the Country Profiles do not imply the expressionof any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country,territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

UUNNIITTEEDD KKIINNGGDDOOMMPPuubblliicc AAddmmiinniissttrraattiioonn

CCoouunnttrryy PPrrooffiillee

Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM)

Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

United Nations

February 2006


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Table of Contents

Table of Contents........................................................................................... 1Country ........................................................................................................ 21. General Information ................................................................................... 4

1.1 People.................................................................................................. 41.2 Economy .............................................................................................. 41.3 Public Spending ..................................................................................... 51.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages....................................................... 5

2. Legal Structure .......................................................................................... 62.1 Legislative Branch.................................................................................. 62.2 Executive Branch ................................................................................... 72.3 Judiciary Branch .................................................................................... 72.4 Local Government.................................................................................. 8

3. The State and Civil Society .........................................................................103.1 Ombudsperson .....................................................................................10

3.2 Civil Society .........................................................................................10

4. Civil Service .............................................................................................114.1 Legal basis...........................................................................................114.2 Recruitment.........................................................................................114.3 Promotion............................................................................................124.3 Remuneration ......................................................................................124.4 Training...............................................................................................134.5 Gender and Diversity.............................................................................13

5. Ethics and Civil Service ..............................................................................145.1 Corruption ...........................................................................................145.2 Ethics..................................................................................................14

6. e-Government ..........................................................................................166.1 e-Government Readiness .......................................................................166.2 e-Participation......................................................................................17

7. Links .......................................................................................................187.1 National sites .......................................................................................187.2 Miscellaneous sites................................................................................18


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CountryClick here for detailed map

Source: The World Factbook United Kingdom

Government typeparliamentary democracy

Independence

England has existed as a unifiedentity since the 10th century; theunion between England and Wales,begun in 1284 with the Statute ofRhuddlan, was not formalized until1536 with an Act of Union; inanother Act of Union in 1707

Constitution

consists of a series of legal documents,including certain acts of the UK and NewZealand Parliaments, as well as TheConstitution Act 1986, which is theprincipal formal charter; adopted 1January 1987.

Legalsystem

common law tradition with earlyRoman and modern continentalinfluences; has nonbinding judicialreview of Acts of Parliament under

the Human Rights Act of 1998;accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,with reservations

Administrativedivisions

16 regions and 1 territory

Source: The World Factbook United Kingdom

The UK is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In mid-2003 theUK was home to 59.6 million people. The average age was 38.4 years, an increase on

1971 when it was 34.1 years. In mid-2003 one in five people in the UK were aged under16 and one in six people were aged 65 or over.

Source: Direct Government UK - Overview of the UK government (2006)

Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century. At itsheight, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The firsthalf of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars.The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itselfinto a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members

UUnniitteedd KKiinngddoomm
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/index.htmlhttp://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/flags/uk-flag.htmlhttp://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/index.htmlhttp://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm


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of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth,the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing thedegree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose toremain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutionalreform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the NationalAssembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999,

but the latter is suspended due to wrangling over the peace process.Source: The World Factbook United Kingdom
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/


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1.1 People UK France Germany 1

Population a

Total estimated population (,000), 2003 59,251 60,144 82,476

Female estimated population (,000), 2003 30,388 30,845 42,177

Male estimated population (,000), 2003 28,863 29,299 40,299

Sex ratio (males per 100 females), 2003 95 95 96

Average annual rate of change of pop. (%), 2000-2005 0.31 0.47 0.07

Youth and Elderly Population b

Total population under age 15 (%), 2003 18 19 15

Female population aged 60+ (%), 2003 23 23 27

Male population aged 60+ (%), 2003 19 18 21

Human Settlements c

Urban population (%), 2001 90 76 88

Rural population (%), 2001 10 24 12

Urban average annual rate of change in pop. (%), 00-05 0.25 0.58 0.17

Rural average annual rate of change in pop/ (%), 00-05 -0.5 -0.34 -1.55

Education d

Total school life expectancy, 2000-2001 16.3 15.4 15.3i 1

Female school life expectancy, 2000-2001 16.7 15.7 15.1i 1

Male school life expectancy, 2000-2001 15.8 15.1 15.4i 1

Female estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000 .. .. .. 2

Male estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000 .. .. .. 2

Employment e

Unemployment rate (15+) (%), 2000 5.5 ii 8.8 iii 7.9iv 1

Female adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001 53 a 48 b 49 2

Male adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001 71 a 62 b 66 2

Notes:i1998/1999,

iiMonths of March-May,

iiiMonth of March,

ivMonth of April,

aAge 16+ years,

B2000.

1.2 Economy UK France Germany 2

GDP a

GDP total (millions US$), 2002 1,552,437 1,409,604 i 1,976,240

GDP per capita (US$), 2002 26,376 23,714 23,956

PPP GDP total (millions int. US$), 2002 1,510,997 1,554,483 2,171,624

PPP GDP per capita(int. US$), 2002 25,672 26,151 26,324

Sectors b

Value added in agriculture (% of GDP), 2003 1.0 2.7 1.1ii

Value added in industry (% of GDP), 2003 26.6 24.5 29.4ii

Value added in services (% of GDP), 2003 72.4 72.8 69.4ii

Miscellaneous c

GDP implicit price deflator (annual % growth), 2004 3.2 1.2 19.3

Private consumption (% of GDP), 2003 65.6 55.6 iii 58.6 ii

Government consumption (% of GDP), 2003 21.1 24.3 19.3 ii

Notes: i Data include the French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Runion, ii 2003 ,iii1994.

1United Nations Statistics Division:a Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN Secretariat; b Statistics Division and Population Division of the UNSecretariat; c Population Division of the UN Secretariat; d1 UNESCO ; d2 UNESCO; e1 ILO; e2 ILO/OECD2World Bank - Data and Statistics:a Quick Reference Tables; b Data Profile Tables ; c Country at a Glance


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1.3 Public Spending UK France Germany

Public expenditures 3

Education (% of GNP), 1985-1987 4.8 5.5 .. a

Education (% of GNP), 1995-1997 5.3i 6 i 4.8i a

Health (% of GDP), 1990 5.1 6.7 5.9

Health (% of GDP), 1998 5.8ii 7.3 ii 7.9ii

Military (% of GDP), 1990 3.9 3.5 2.8 iii b

Military (% of GDP), 2000 2.5 2.6 1.5 b

Total debt service (% of GDP), 1990 .. .. ..

Total debt service (% of GDP), 2000 .. .. ..

Notes: i.Data may not be strictly comparable with those for earlier years as a result of methodological changes, ii Data refer to 1999, iii

Data refer to the Federal Republic of Germany before reunification.

1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages

Data from the latest year available

UnitedKingdom

1991-1995

UnitedKingdom

1996-2000

EuropeanUnion

Average41996-2000

High incomeOECD

average41996-2000

High incomegroup

average41996-2000

Employment

(,000) 747 1,804Civilian Central Government5(% pop.) 1.3 3.1 4.1 .. 2.8

(,000) 1,300 1,989Sub-national Government5

(% pop.) 2.2 3.4 4.1 .. 2.8

(,000) 990 813Education employees

(% pop.) 1.7 1.4 1.2 .. 1.3

(,000) 1,010 968Health employees

(% pop.) 1.7 1.6 1.2 .. 1.1

(,000) 201 ..Police

(% pop.) 0.3 .. .. .. ..

(,000) 303 211Armed forces

(% pop.) 0.5 0.4 0.5 .. 0.5

(,000) 759 ..SOE Employees

(% pop.) 1.3 .. .. .. ..

(,000) 5,310 ..Total Public Employment

(% pop.) 9.14 .. .. .. ..

Total Central gov't wage bill (% of GDP) 1.5 .. 3.6 .. 4.2

Total Central govt wage bill (% of exp) 7.1 5.9 12.8 .. 16.4

Average gov't wage (,000 LCU) 14 19

Real ave. govt wage ('97 price) (,000 LCU) 16 19

Average govt wage to per capita GDP ratio 1.4 1.4 .. .. ..

Source: World Bank - Public Sector Employment and Wages

3UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

a Data refer to total public expenditure on education, including current and capital expenditures.b As a result of a number of limitations in the data, comparisons of military expenditure data over time and acrosscountries should be made with caution. For detailed notes on the data see SIPRI (2001).4Averages for regions and sub regions are only generated if data is available for at least 35% of the countries in thatregion or sub region.5

Excluding education, health and police if available (view Country Sources for further explanations).
http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/index.cfmhttp://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/civilservice/development.htmhttp://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/civilservice/development.htmhttp://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/index.cfm


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The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy, based on universal suffrage. It isalso a constitutional monarchy in which ministers of the Crown govern in the nameof the Sovereign, who is both Head of State and Head of the Government. There isno written constitution. Instead, the relationship between the State and the peoplerelies on statute law, common law and conventions.

Following devolution, the responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland changed considerably, although they retain theirpositions in the UK Cabinet. They ensure that the reserved interests of the countriesthey represent are properly considered in central government and they lead thepresentation of government policy in their parts of the UK. They are also responsiblefor safeguarding and promoting the devolution settlements of their respectivecountries.

Source: Direct Government UK - Overview of the UK government (2006)

2.1 Legislative Branch

bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary

peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are elected bypopular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)6

Women in parliament: lower house 127 out of 646 seats (19.7%) and 126 out of 721 (19.7%)7

Parliament at Westminster in London can legislate for the UKas a whole and has powers to legislate for any parts of itseparately. However, it will not normally legislate on devolvedmatters in Scotland and Northern Ireland without theagreement of the Scottish Parliament and the NorthernIreland Assembly respectively. There are three parts ofParliament the House of Commons, the House of Lords andthe sovereign.

The House of Commons consists of 646 elected MPs. Of the646 seats, 529 represent constituencies in England, 40 inWales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. The chiefofficer of the House of Commons is the Speaker, elected byMPs to preside over the House. Other officers include theChairman of Ways and Means and two deputy chairmen, whomay all act as Deputy Speakers. They are elected by theHouse as nominees of the Government, but may come fromthe Opposition as well as the government party. The House ofCommons Commission, a statutory body chaired by theSpeaker, is responsible for the administration of the House.

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UKParliament and consists of the Lords Spiritual and the LordsTemporal. The Lords Temporal consist of hereditary peers, lifepeers, and life peers created to help carry out the judicialduties of the House (up to 12 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary - or

6Source of fact boxes if nothing else stated: The World Factbook United Kingdom7Inter-Parliamentary Union-Women in National Parliaments8Source of fact boxes if nothing else stated: The World Factbook United Kingdom

Fact box:

elections: House of

Lords - no elections

(note - in 1999, as

provided by the House

of Lords Act, elections

were held in the House

of Lords to determine

the 92 hereditary peers

who would remain

there; pending further

reforms, elections are

held only as vacancies in

the hereditary peerage

arise); House of

Commons - last held 5

May 2005 (next to be

held by May 2010)

election results: seats

by party - Labor 356,

Conservative 197,

Liberal Democrat 62,

other 31; note - as of 30

September 2005 the

seats by party - Labor

354, Conservative 196,

Liberal Democrat 62,

other 34. 8


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Law Lords - and a number of other Lords of Appeal).

Source: Direct Government UK House of Commons & House of Lords (2006)

As there are no legal restraints imposed by a written constitution, Parliament maylegislate as it pleases as long as the UK meets its obligations as a member of theEuropean Union. It can make or change law, overturn established conventions orturn them into law. It can even legislate to prolong its own life beyond the normalperiod without consulting the electorate.

Source: Direct Government UK Parliaments power (2006)

2.2 Executive Branch

cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister

elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority

party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister

The Executive is made up of the Prime Minister, Cabinet andthe public sector. In her role as Monarch, the Queen is head ofthe executive and plays an integral part in the legislature. Sheheads the judiciary. Her Majesty's Government consists ofthose ministers responsible for the conduct of national affairs.The Queen alone appoints the Prime Minister and all otherministers are appointed by her on the Prime Minister'srecommendation. Most ministers are members of theCommons, although the Government is also fully representedby ministers in the Lords.

The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsiblefor allocating functions among ministers and, at regular meetings with the Queen,informs her of the general business of the Government. The Prime Minister's otherresponsibilities include recommending a number of appointments to the Queen.These include high-ranking members of the Church of England, senior judges and

certain civil appointments. He also recommends appointments to several publicboards and institutions, as well as to various royal and statutory commissions.

The cabinet is not a body established by statute. Its power comes from long-recognised convention. The Executive Council, which is formally constituted, does nothave the power to make policy decisions. It gives legal effect to decisions madeelsewhere, e.g. regulations, Orders and Notices. The Executive Council is presidedover by the Governor-General and in practice the other members are the Cabinet ofthe day.

Source: Direct Government UK The Government and the Prime Minister (2006)

2.3 Judiciary Branch

House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the

monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of

Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the

Justiciary

In her role as Monarch, the Queen is head of the executive and plays an integral partin the legislature. She heads the judiciary. The UK has three legal systems, operatingin England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and three systems of criminal

Fact box:

chief of state: Queen

ELIZABETH II (since 6

February 1952); Heir

Apparent PrinceCHARLES (son of the

queen, born 14

November 1948)

head of government:

Prime Minister Anthony

(Tony) BLAIR (since 2

May 1997)


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justice. There is no single criminal or penal code, but rather an emphasis on theindependence of prosecuting authorities and the judiciary.

The ultimate source of law is statutes passed by the Westminster or ScottishParliaments, but there is a legal duty to comply with European Community law. UKcourts must apply the latter in cases where the two conflict. A statute can give powerto a minister, local authority or other executive body to make delegated legislation.

The House of Lords is the final point of appeal and a small number of cases eachyear may be referred to the European Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction onmatters of European Community law. All appeals to the House of Lords are about themeaning of the law, rather than the evidence in a case. The Appellate Committee ofthe House of Lords receives appeals from the courts in England and Wales andNorthern Ireland, and in civil cases from Scotland; in addition, they sit as the JudicialCommittee of the Privy Council to hear appeals from those Commonwealth countrieswhose legal systems are still linked to the UK

The Court of Appeal also sits at the Royal Courts of Justice. The Criminal Divisionhears appeals from Crown Court cases, while the Civil Division receives appeals fromthe High Court, tribunals and, in certain cases, county courts. The work is handled bythree divisions: (i) chancery division: equity, trusts, tax, bankruptcy; (ii) queen's

bench division: contract, tort, commercial matters; and (iii) family Division: divorce,children, probate. In addition, there are county courts, division courts andadministrative courts.

Source: Direct Government of UK: Introduction to the judicial System & Department of Constitutional Affairs (edited)

2.4 Local Government

Local authorities work within the powers laid down under various Acts of Parliament.Their functions are far-reaching. Some are mandatory, which means that theauthority must do what is required by law. Others are discretionary, allowing anauthority to provide services if it wishes.

The main link between local authorities and central government is the Office of theDeputy Prime Minister. However, other departments, such as the Department forEducation and Skills, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department ofHealth and the Home Office, are also concerned with various local governmentfunctions. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, local authorities now deal mainlywith the devolved Parliament and Assemblies.

About two million people are employed by local authorities in the UK. These includeschool teachers, the police, firefighters and other non-manual and manual workers.Education is the largest locally-provided service, with 0.9 million full-time equivalentjobs. Councils are individually responsible, within certain legislative requirements, fordeciding the structure of their workforces.

Every part of the UK is covered by a local authority fire service. Each of the 59 fireauthorities must by law provide a firefighting service and must maintain a brigade tomeet all normal requirements. Each fire authority appoints a Chief Fire Officer, orFiremaster in Scotland, who has day-to-day control of operations.

In June 2003, responsibility for the overall management of relations between the UKGovernment and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and NorthernIreland has moved from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to the


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Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). ODPM remains responsible for theEnglish region. The highest priority was given to the creation of a Parliament inScotland and a National Assembly for Wales because the demand for decentralisationin these countries was strong.

Source: Direct Government of UK: Local Government Powers (edited)


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33.. TThhee SSttaattee aanndd CCiivviill SSoocciieettyy

3.1 Ombudsperson

The office of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (ParliamentaryOmbudsman) was created in 1967. During the next ten years other public sector

ombudsmen were appointed, so that by the end of the 1970s there wereparliamentary, health and local government ombudsmen services in each country ofthe British Isles. In 1981 the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau, the first private sectorombudsman scheme, which was followed by many others in the private sector. In2001 a number of voluntary schemes (banking, building societies, insurance andinvestment) were brought together to form a statutory Financial OmbudsmanService.

There are many public and private ombudsman that have been incorporated in theUnited Kingdom Ombudsman Association and became the British and IrishOmbudsman Association when membership was extended to include ombudsmenfrom the Republic of Ireland in 1994.

Source: British and Irish Ombudsman Association (2002)

3.2 Civil Society

Non-governmental organizations in Britain are numerous. There is no overriding legalcontext for all of them. They include: (i) charities organizations of volunteersregulated by the government (The Charities Commission) and receiving taxbenefits to carry out public services, e.g., the Royal National Lifeboat Institution; (ii)trades unions which represent the labour interests of members, e.g., Unison, theunion for public sector workers in local authorities; (iii) professional bodies such asthe Law Society that regulates the profession of lawyers; (iv) pressure groups thatstand for economic interests, e.g., the Confederation of British Industry; (v) think-tanks such as the Fabian Society that argue specific policy lines; (vi) non-

departmental public bodies that use public money in a public context but are onlyloosely controlled by Ministers, such as the Sports or Arts Councils.

Source: Profile of National Public Administrations: United Kingdom (2000)


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44.. CCiivviill SSeerrvviiccee

The civil service has no separate constitutional responsibility. The constitutional andpractical role of the cvil service in Great Britain is to help the Government of theUnited Kingdom, the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Walesformulate their policies, carry out decisions and administer public services for which

they are responsible. A separate Northern Ireland Civil Service was created in 1921to serve the local administration. Its present role is to support the Northern IrelandExecutive in the administration of public services for which it has responsibility.

Source: Direct Government of UK: the civil service commission (2006)

The UK Civil Service commissioners derive their responsibilities and powers from theCivil Service Order in Council 1995 and the Diplomatic Service Order in Council 1991,as amended. They have two responsibilities: (i) to maintain the fundamentalprinciple in recruitment to the Civil Service of selection on merit on the basis of fairand open competition, including the approval of appointments by recruitment to themost senior levels in the Civil Service; and (ii) to hear and determine appeals under

the Civil Service Code.


4.1 Legal basis

The public administration is entirely subject to the law but there is no specific CivilService Act or legal provision that prescribes specific duties or rights to publicservants. The Civil Service Code, introduced in 1996, is a concise statement of therole and responsibilities of civil servants. It was revised in 1999 to take account ofdevolution. The Code includes an independent line of appeal to the Civil ServiceCommissioners on alleged breaches of the Code

Source: Profile of National Public Administrations: United Kingdom (2000) & Direct Government of UK: the civil servicecommission (2006)

The Commissioners derive their responsibilities and powers from the Civil ServiceOrder in Council 1995 and the Diplomatic Service Order in Council 1991, asamended.

Source: UK Civil Service Commissioner (2006)

4.2 Recruitment

Recruitment is the responsibility of individual departments, with the exception ofsenior civil servants. The role of the Civil Service Commission is to provide a

framework based on the civil service recruitment principles. Recruitment into theCivil Service is regulated by the Civil Service Order in Council 1995 and theDiplomatic Service Order in Council 1991. Both of these Orders have been amended.

The Orders in Council require the Civil Service Commissioners to: (i) maintain theprinciple of appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition inrecruitment to the civil service; (ii) prescribe and publish a recruitment code on theinterpretation and application of the principle; (iii) incorporate in the code certainrestricted circumstances in which exceptions to the principle can be made; approve


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appointments at the most senior levels in the Civil Service; and (iv) audit therecruitment systems of departments and agencies for compliance with the code. Inaddition, the Commissioners are empowered by the Orders to require departmentsand agencies to publish information about their recruitment.

Furthermore. a new system of recruitment audits the Recruitment ComplianceMonitoring following a review in 2003-2004 of our approach to audit and the re-tendering of the audit contract.

Source: UK Civil Service Commissioner (2006) & Civil Service Commissioner Annual Report (2004-2005)

4.3 Promotion

Promotion of junior officers are the responsibility of Department or agencies.However, there are fast career tracks such as the In-Service Fast Stream which aimsat people currently working in the Civil Service - those with the potential to rise tothe highest levels of management.

Source: Department of Finance and Personnel (2004)

Recruitment is by department, after examination and interview in many cases. Thereis no educational restriction but to reach the higher levels usually requires universitytraining.

The United Kingdom has no class system for officials, but there is a series of grades(varying in detail between departments) from Administrative Assistant up toPermanent Secretary. Usually a lower number signifies a higher grade (a PermanentSecretary is grade one) and any official may in theory rise to the top of the systemthe Senior Civil Service. There is also a fast stream of specially selected andtrained officials.


4.4 Remuneration

All Government departments and executive agencies have responsibility for their ownpay and grading systems for all civil servants outside of the Senior civil service. Inaddition to this departments also have responsibility for their own recruitmentalthough there are some websites that deal with recruitment across the civil serviceas a whole.

Source: Civil Service Commissioner Annual Report (2004-2005)

The Performance and Reward Division is situated within the Civil Service CorporateManagement group of the Cabinet Office. It supports best practice personnelmanagement policies within the Civil Service. The division is organised into three

branches. The first deals with delegated Civil Service performance management andpay systems. The second deals with future performance management and paysystems for the Senior Civil Service, and the third deals with the maintenance ofSenior Civil Service pay systems, Special Advisors pay and Parliamentary pay.

Source: The UK Civil Service Civil Service Performance and reward division (2005)

The current median starting salary in London is 23,700. Starting salaries dependsthe location of work and the overall package can vary from department to


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department. There is also a pension provision, which costs maximum of 3.5% ofsalary.

Source: Civil Service Fast stream (2006)

4.5 Training

The Cabinet Offices Corporate Development Group acts as a central coordinationcentre for training to ensure standards across the Civil Service and supportsgovernment departments training requirements. In addition, the National School of

Government is responsible for providing the public sector with core skills training andprofessional development aligned to the requirements of the Government. There arealso e-learning possibilities as well as European Awareness Network.

Source: The Cabinet Office Public Sector Training (edited) (2005)

The Public Sector Leader Scheme (PSLS) organises learning events which bringpeople together from across all parts of the Public Sector. This network enablesmembers to share good practice and develop leadership skills for the Public Sector.It is the only scheme that embraces the whole of the Public Sector and seeks todevelop individuals and organisations. The scheme is open to individuals in the PublicSector organisations within the UK. Learning about different cultures is given furtherimpetus through the Interchange module where participants have the opportunity to

work in a different part of the Public Sector. This scheme is based on action learningunderpinned with theoretical study.

Source: Public Sector Leadership Scheme (2005)

4.6 Gender and Diversity

The Civil Service is promoting equality opportunity and has action plans for women,ethnic minority staff and disabled staff, including guidance on age diversity. There isa clear policy to be followed in dealing with complaints. There must be no unfairdiscrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, marital status, sexualorientation, religion or belief, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, or (inNorthern Ireland) community background, working pattern, employment status,

gender identity (transgender), caring responsibility, trade union membership.

Whilst Departments themselves determine their diversity priorities, and areaccountable for their own decisions and actions, Cabinet Office is responsible forensuring that the Civil Service as a whole meets the Government's commitment toachieving greater representation of minority ethnic staff, women and staff withdisabilities at senior levels. On diversity meeting the specific targets of:

37% women in the Senior Civil Service (29.1% at April '05); 30% women in top management posts (25.5% at April '05); 4% ethnic minority staff in the SCS (2.8% at April '05); 3.2% disabled staff in the SCS (2.9% at April '05);

and, in the longer term, work to ensure that the Civil Service at all levels reflects thediversity of the population.

Source: The UK Civil Service Civil Service Diversity (2005)


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55.. EEtthhiiccss aanndd CCiivviill SSeerrvviiccee

5.1 Corruption

2003 CPI Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen bybusiness people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0

(highly corrupt).

Corruption Perceptions Index

2003 CPIScore

SurveysUsed

StandardDeviation

High-LowRange

NumberInst.

90 percentconfidence

range

Rank Country

1 Highly clean 9.7 8 0.3 9.2 - 10.0 4 9.5 - 9.9

11 United Kingdom 8.7 13 0.5 7.8 - 9.2 9 8.5 - 8.9

133 Highly corrupt 1.3 8 0.7 0.3 - 2.2 6 0.9 - 1.7

Source:Transparency International -Corruption Perceptions Index 2003

Surveys Used: Refers to the number of surveys that were used to assess a country's performance. 17 surveys were

used and at least 3 surveys were required for a country to be included in the CPI.Standard Deviation: Indicates differences in the values of the sources. Values below 0.5 indicate agreement, values

between 0.5 and c. 0.9 indicate some agreement, while values equal or larger than 1 indicate disagreement.

High-Low Range: Provides the highest and lowest values of the sources.

Number Institutions: Refers to the number of independent institutions that assessed a country's performance. Since

some institutions provided more than one survey.

90 percent confidence range: Provides a range of possible values of the CPI score. With 5 percent probability the score

is above this range and with another 5 percent it is below.

Accountability and control are the tasks of the Westminster Parliaments PublicAccounts Committee which has a large office (1,000 staff) the National Audit Office(NAO) to check on ministries spending, propriety and value-for-money. The role ofthe National Audit Office (NAO) is to audit the financial statements of all government

departments and agencies, and many other public bodies. The NAO also report toParliament on the value for money with which these bodies have spent public money.As well as providing accountability to Parliament, it aims to bring about realimprovements in the delivery of public services.

Under the law the NAO are responsible for auditing the accounts of all Governmentdepartments and agencies and to report the results to Parliament. Individualaccounts can range from the Department for Work and Pensions, to the PassportAgency. The NAO also audits over half of the 'arms-length' public bodies (known asnon-Departmental public bodies), In total, we audit over 550 accounts per year, andtotal expenditure and revenue of over 700 billion.

Source: Profile of National Public Administrations: United Kingdom (2000) & UK

National Audit Office (2006) (edited)

5.2 Ethics

There are a number of safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of individuals incarrying out their public duties. The role of the Committee on Standards in Public Life(known as the Wicks Committee) is to examine the standards of conduct of allholders of public office.
http://www.transparency.org/http://www.transparency.org/surveys/index.html#cpihttp://www.nao.org.uk/about/role.htm#Valuehttp://www.nao.org.uk/about/role.htm#Valuehttp://www.nao.org.uk/about/role.htm#Financialhttp://www.transparency.org/surveys/index.html#cpihttp://www.transparency.org/


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15

Recommendations in a 1995 report led to the appointment of a ParliamentaryCommissioner for Standards and a Commissioner for Public Appointments. Otherreports have resulted in:

changes in the ethical framework for local government, including theestablishment in 2001 of a new Standards Board for England;

a new regulatory regime for political party funding in the UK, overseen by an

independent Electoral Commission; new rules governing the conduct and discipline of MPs and strengthened

guidance on lobbying; the introduction of new Codes of Conduct for government ministers and

special advisers; and the mandatory registration of all peers' relevant financial interests and a short

code of conduct for members of the House of Lords.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who is independent of government,can advise MPs on matters of standards, and hold initial investigations intocomplaints about alleged breaches of the rules by Members. The Commissionerreports to the House of Commons Select Committee on Standards and Privileges.

The Commons has a public register of Members of Parliaments' financial - and somenon-financial - interests. Members with a financial interest must declare it whenspeaking in the House or in Committee and must indicate it when giving notice of aquestion or motion. They must also disclose any relevant financial interest in otherproceedings of the House and in dealings with other Members, ministers or civilservants. The House of Lords has its own register on similar lines to that for MPs.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments is independent of government and isresponsible for monitoring, regulating and auditing ministerial appointments to arange of public bodies.

Source: Direct Government of UK - Introduction to the judicial System (2006)


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e-Government

Readiness Index:

The index refers to thegeneric capacity or

aptitude of the public

sector to use ICT for

encapsulating in public

services and deploying

to the public, high

quality information

(explicit knowledge) and

effective communication

tools that support

human development.

The index is comprised

of three sub-indexes:

Web Measure Index,

TelecommunicationsInfrastructure Index and

Human Capital Index.

Web Measure Index:

A scale based on

progressively

sophisticated web

services present.

Coverage and

sophistication of state-

provided e-service and

e-product availability

correspond to anumerical classification.

Telecommunications

Infrastructure Index:

A composite, weighted

average index of six

primary indices, based

on basic infrastructural

indicators that define a

country's ICT infra-

structure capacity.

Primary indicators are:

PCs, Internet users,online population and

Mobile phones.

Secondary indicators

are TVs and telephone

lines.

00.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

UK

France

Germany

Japan

USA

Canada

e-Government Readiness Index

Source: United Nations World Public Sector Report 2003

Human Capital Index:

A composite of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio, with two thirds of the weight

given to adult literacy and one third to the gross enrolment ratio.

66.. ee--GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt

6.1 e-Government Readiness

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

UK

France

Germany

Japan

USA

Canada

Web Measure Index Telecom. Infrastructure Index Human Capital Index

Source: United Nations World Public Sector Re ort 2003


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17

e-consultation:

The government website explains e-consultation mechanisms and tools. It offers a choice of public policy topics online for discussion with

real time and archived access to audios and videos of public meetings. The government encourages citizens to participate in discussions.

e-decision making:

The government

indicates that it will

take citizens input

into account in

decision making and

provides actual

feedback on the

outcome of specific

issues.

e-Participation

Index:

Refers to the willing-

ness, on the part of

the government, to

use ICT to provide

high quality informa-

tion (explicit know-

ledge) and effective

communication tools

for the specific

purpose of empower-

ring people for able

participation in

consultations and

decision-making both

in their capacity as

consumers of public

services and as

citizens.

e-information:

The government

websites offer

information on

policies and

programs, budgets,

laws and regulations,

and other briefs of

key public interest.

Tools for dissemi-

nating of information

exist for timely access

and use of public

information, including

web forums, e-mail

lists, newsgroups and

chat rooms.

6.2 e-Participation

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

UK

Fran

ce

Germa

ny

Jap

an

USA

Cana

da

e-information e-decision making e-consultation


0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.70.8

0.9

1

UK

France

Germany

Japan

USA

Canada

e-Participation Index



19/19

77.. LLiinnkkss

7.1 National sites

Authority TopicUK Civil Service Commissioner http://www.civilservicecommissioners.gov.uk/

British and Irish Ombudsman Association http://www.bioa.org.uk/

UK Civil Service http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/

The UK Cabinet Office http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

Website of the UK Government http://www.direct.gov.uk/

UK National Audit Office http://www.nao.org.uk/

7.2 Miscellaneous sites

Institution Topic

OECD http://www.oecd.org

World Bank http://www.worldbank.org

European Union http://www.europa.eu.int
http://www.europa.eu.int/http://www.europa.eu.int/

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