In the past, the Trust has pressed for reform of the fragmented and opaque rules on the roles of civil servants and special advisers and for the introduction of a Civil Service Bill in the interests of transparency and good governance. In 2003, the drafting of Lord Lester's Private Member's Bill, the Executive Powers and Civil Service Bill furthered these aims. The Trust worked closely with a former Parliamentary Counsel, Stephanie Grundy and others to produce a far-reaching Bill, incorporating many of the recommendations of the Ninth Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, 'Defining the Boundaries within the Executive: Minister, Special Adviser and the permanent Civil Service' (The Wicks Report).
The Bill is intended to introduce reforms in relation to a range of Ministerial powers that are exercisable by virtue of the Royal Prerogative. Prerogative powers are rights and powers handed to Ministers by the monarch. There is no definitive statement of the scope of these powers but they include the powers to ratify treaties with other countries, to mobilise troops, to regulate the Civil Service and make appointments to certain public positions. The Bill creates a statutory framework for the exercise of these powers. It contains detailed provisions dealing with particular areas (the civil service, special advisers and public appointments) and makes provision for general review by Parliament in all other areas. The Bill makes provision, amongst other things, with respect to:
Current Status:
Second Reading of the Bill took place on 5 March 2004. There was considerable support for the section of the Bill dealing with the Civil Service. However, there was controversy over other parts of the Bill dealing with prerogative powers, treaty scrutiny and war powers. Therefore Lord Lester decided to cut down the Bill so that it became the Civil Service (No.2) Bill.
The Civil Service (No.2) Bill is intended to introduce reforms to regulate the Civil Service. The Bill makes provision, amongst other things, with respect to:
The Bill in its revised form passed through all subsequent stages of the House of Lords, with Third Reading on 20 May 2004. The Bill, which was intended primarily to raise the government's sights, has not yet been introduced in the Commons. In 2003, the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee also applied pressure on the government by taking the unusual step of drafting their own Bill.
The government finally produced a draft Bill in November 2004. As anticipated, it is a weaker version than the Trust had hoped for but it is a good starting point for this much-needed legislation. The draft Bill is now under consultation. The Trust has responded to the consultation and campaigns to improve the Bill in line with recommendations made by the Public Administration Select Committee.
Constitutional Reform (Prerogative Powers and Civil Service etc.) Bill
The Trust has drafted a new version of the Executive Powers and Civil Service Bill, entitled the Constitutional Reform (Prerogative Powers and Civil Service etc.) Bill. The Bill introduces the same reforms and also incorporates provisions of the Parliamentary Commissioner (Amendment) Bill, which will enable the public to have the option of direct access to the Parliamentary Commissioner, while retaining the option of the MP filter.
Current Status:
Second Reading of the Bill took place on 3 March 2006. There was considerable support for the Bill from all sides of the House, in particular the parts dealing with the Civil Service.
Lord Lester made a proposal to the House of Lords Liaison Committee to establish an ad hoc Select Committee to consider Part 2 of and Schedule 3 to the Constitutional Reform Bill in the context of other current proposals to create a statutory framework for the Civil Service and its relations with Ministers, Special Advisers, and Parliament. The Liaison Committee did not agree to the proposal, as it felt that a further committee on these issues would add little value to the deliberations and reports of other bodies, in particular the Public Administration Committee's report in 2003 (A Draft Civil Service Bill: Completing the Reform (2003-04, HC 128-I)), and the Government's consultation paper and draft bill of November 2004 (Cm 6373).
Following the report of the Liaison Committee, the Bill passed through all subsequent stages of the House of Lords, with Third Reading on 24 July 2006.
Last updated November 2006