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UNITED KINGDOM
Public Administration
Country Profile
Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM)
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
United Nations
February 2006
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 expression
of 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.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................... 1
Country ........................................................................................................ 2
1. General Information ................................................................................... 4
1.1 People.................................................................................................. 4
1.2 Economy .............................................................................................. 4
1.3 Public Spending ..................................................................................... 5
1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages....................................................... 5
2. Legal Structure .......................................................................................... 6
2.1 Legislative Branch.................................................................................. 6
2.2 Executive Branch ................................................................................... 7
2.3 Judiciary Branch .................................................................................... 7
2.4 Local Government.................................................................................. 8
3. The State and Civil Society .........................................................................10
3.1 Ombudsperson .....................................................................................10
3.2 Civil Society .........................................................................................10
4. Civil Service .............................................................................................11
4.1 Legal basis...........................................................................................11
4.2 Recruitment .........................................................................................11
4.3 Promotion............................................................................................12
4.3 Remuneration ......................................................................................12
4.4 Training...............................................................................................13
4.5 Gender and Diversity.............................................................................13
5. Ethics and Civil Service ..............................................................................14
5.1 Corruption ...........................................................................................14
5.2 Ethics..................................................................................................14
6. e-Government ..........................................................................................16
6.1 e-Government Readiness .......................................................................16
6.2 e-Participation ......................................................................................17
7. Links .......................................................................................................18
7.1 National sites .......................................................................................18
7.2 Miscellaneous sites................................................................................18
1
United Kingdom
Country
Click here for detailed map
Government type
parliamentary democracy
Independence
England has existed as a unified
entity since the 10th century; the
union between England and Wales,
begun in 1284 with the Statute of
Rhuddlan, was not formalized until
1536 with an Act of Union; in
another Act of Union in 1707
Constitution
consists of a series of legal documents,
including certain acts of the UK and New
Zealand Parliaments, as well as The
Constitution Act 1986, which is the
principal formal charter; adopted 1
January 1987.
Legal system
Source: The World Factbook – United Kingdom
common law tradition with early
Roman and modern continental
influences; has nonbinding judicial
review of Acts of Parliament under
the Human Rights Act of 1998;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Administrative divisions
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 the
UK 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 under
16 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 its
height, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first
half 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 itself
into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members
2
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 the
degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to
remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional
reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National
Assembly 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
3
1. General Information
1.1 People
UK
France
Germany
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
Population
1
a
Sex ratio (males per 100 females), 2003
Average annual rate of change of pop. (%), 2000-2005
95
95
96
0.31
0.47
0.07
b
Youth and Elderly Population
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
c
Human Settlements
Urban population (%), 2001
90
76
Rural population (%), 2001
10
24
88
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
16.3
15.4
15.3i
1
15.7
i
15.1
1
15.1
i
15.4
1
2
d
Education
Total school life expectancy, 2000-2001
Female school life expectancy, 2000-2001
16.7
Male school life expectancy, 2000-2001
15.8
Female estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000
..
..
..
Male estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000
..
..
..
2
e
Employment
Unemployment rate (15+) (%), 2000
5.5 ii
8.8 iii
7.9iv
1
48
b
49
2
62
b
66
2
2
Female adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001
53
a
Male adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001
71
a
Notes:i 1998/1999,ii Months of March-May, iii Month of March,
iv
Month of April, a Age 16+ years, B 2000.
1.2 Economy
UK
France
Germany
1,552,437
1,409,604 i
1,976,240
26,376
23,714
23,956
1,510,997
1,554,483
2,171,624
25,672
26,151
26,324
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
3.2
1.2
19.3
Private consumption (% of GDP), 2003
65.6
55.6 iii
Government consumption (% of GDP), 2003
21.1
24.3
GDP
a
GDP total (millions US$), 2002
GDP per capita (US$), 2002
PPP GDP total (millions int. US$), 2002
PPP GDP per capita(int. US$), 2002
b
Sectors
Value added in agriculture (% of GDP), 2003
c
Miscellaneous
GDP implicit price deflator (annual % growth), 2004
i
Notes: Data include the French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion,
1
ii
58.6
ii
19.3
ii
iii
2003 , 1994.
United Nations Statistics Division:
Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN Secretariat; b Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN
Secretariat; c Population Division of the UN Secretariat; d1 UNESCO ; d2 UNESCO; e1 ILO; e2 ILO/OECD
2
World Bank - Data and Statistics:
a
Quick Reference Tables; b Data Profile Tables ; c Country at a Glance
a
4
1.3 Public Spending
UK
France
Germany
Education (% of GNP), 1985-1987
4.8
5.5
..
a
Education (% of GNP), 1995-1997
5.3i
6i
4.8i
a
Public expenditures
3
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: .Data may not be strictly comparable with those for earlier years as a result of methodological changes, Data refer to 1999,
i
ii
iii
Data refer to the Federal Republic of Germany before reunification.
1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages
United
Kingdom
1991-1995
United
Kingdom
1996-2000
(,000)
747
1,804
(% pop.)
1.3
3.1
1,300
1,989
Data from the latest year available
European
Union
Average4
1996-2000
High income
OECD
average4
1996-2000
High income
group
average4
1996-2000
4.1
..
2.8
4.1
..
2.8
1.2
..
1.3
1.2
..
1.1
..
..
..
0.5
..
0.5
..
..
..
..
..
..
Employment
Civilian Central Government5
Sub-national Government5
Education employees
Health employees
Police
Armed forces
SOE Employees
Total Public Employment
(,000)
(% pop.)
2.2
3.4
(,000)
990
813
(% pop.)
1.7
1.4
1,010
968
(% pop.)
1.7
1.6
..
(,000)
(,000)
201
(% pop.)
0.3
..
(,000)
303
211
(% pop.)
0.5
0.4
(,000)
759
..
(% pop.)
1.3
..
5,310
..
9.14
..
(,000)
(% pop.)
Total Central gov't wage bill
(% of GDP)
1.5
..
3.6
..
4.2
Total Central gov’t wage bill
(% of exp)
7.1
5.9
12.8
..
16.4
Average gov't wage
(,000 LCU)
14
19
Real ave. gov’t wage ('97 price)
(,000 LCU)
16
19
1.4
1.4
..
..
..
Average gov’t wage to per capita GDP ratio
Source: World Bank - Public Sector Employment and Wages
3
UNDP - Human Development Report 2002
Data refer to total public expenditure on education, including current and capital expenditures.
As a result of a number of limitations in the data, comparisons of military expenditure data over time and across
countries should be made with caution. For detailed notes on the data see SIPRI (2001).
4
Averages for regions and sub regions are only generated if data is available for at least 35% of the countries in that
region or sub region.
5
Excluding education, health and police – if available (view Country Sources for further explanations).
a
b
5
2. Legal Structure
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy, based on universal suffrage. It is
also a constitutional monarchy in which ministers of the Crown govern in the name
of the Sovereign, who is both Head of State and Head of the Government. There is
no ‘written constitution’. Instead, the relationship between the State and the people
relies 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 their
positions in the UK Cabinet. They ensure that the reserved interests of the countries
they represent are properly considered in central government and they lead the
presentation of government policy in their parts of the UK. They are also responsible
for safeguarding and promoting the devolution settlements of their respective
countries.
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 by
popular 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 UK
as a whole and has powers to legislate for any parts of it
separately. However, it will not normally legislate on devolved
matters in Scotland and Northern Ireland without the
agreement of the Scottish Parliament and the Northern
Ireland Assembly respectively. There are three parts of
Parliament – the House of Commons, the House of Lords and
the sovereign.
The House of Commons consists of 646 elected MPs. Of the
646 seats, 529 represent constituencies in England, 40 in
Wales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. The chief
officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker, elected by
MPs to preside over the House. Other officers include the
Chairman of Ways and Means and two deputy chairmen, who
may all act as Deputy Speakers. They are elected by the
House as nominees of the Government, but may come from
the Opposition as well as the government party. The House of
Commons Commission, a statutory body chaired by the
Speaker, is responsible for the administration of the House.
The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK
Parliament and consists of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords
Temporal. The Lords Temporal consist of hereditary peers, life
peers, and life peers created to help carry out the judicial
duties of the House (up to 12 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary - or
6
7
8
Source of fact boxes if nothing else stated: The World Factbook – United Kingdom
Inter-Parliamentary Union - Women in National Parliaments
Source of fact boxes if nothing else stated: The World Factbook – United Kingdom
6
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
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 may
legislate as it pleases as long as the UK meets its obligations as a member of the
European Union. It can make or change law, overturn established conventions or
turn them into law. It can even legislate to prolong its own life beyond the normal
period without consulting the electorate.
Source: Direct Government UK – Parliament’s 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 and
the public sector. In her role as Monarch, the Queen is head of
the executive and plays an integral part in the legislature. She
heads the judiciary. Her Majesty's Government consists of
those ministers responsible for the conduct of national affairs.
The Queen alone appoints the Prime Minister and all other
ministers are appointed by her on the Prime Minister's
recommendation. Most ministers are members of the
Commons, although the Government is also fully represented
by ministers in the Lords.
Fact box:
chief of state: Queen
ELIZABETH II (since 6
February 1952); Heir
Apparent Prince
CHARLES (son of the
queen, born 14
November 1948)
head of government:
Prime Minister Anthony
(Tony) BLAIR (since 2
May 1997)
The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsible
for allocating functions among ministers and, at regular meetings with the Queen,
informs her of the general business of the Government. The Prime Minister's other
responsibilities 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 public
boards and institutions, as well as to various royal and statutory commissions.
The cabinet is not a body established by statute. Its power comes from longrecognised convention. The Executive Council, which is formally constituted, does not
have the power to make policy decisions. It gives legal effect to decisions made
elsewhere, e.g. regulations, Orders and Notices. The Executive Council is presided
over by the Governor-General and in practice the other members are the Cabinet of
the 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 part
in the legislature. She heads the judiciary. The UK has three legal systems, operating
in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and three systems of criminal
7
justice. There is no single criminal or penal code, but rather an emphasis on the
independence of prosecuting authorities and the judiciary.
The ultimate source of law is statutes passed by the Westminster or Scottish
Parliaments, but there is a legal duty to comply with European Community law. UK
courts must apply the latter in cases where the two conflict. A statute can give power
to 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 each
year may be referred to the European Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction on
matters of European Community law. All appeals to the House of Lords are about the
meaning of the law, rather than the evidence in a case. The Appellate Committee of
the House of Lords receives appeals from the courts in England and Wales and
Northern Ireland, and in civil cases from Scotland; in addition, they sit as the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council to hear appeals from those Commonwealth countries
whose legal systems are still linked to the UK
The Court of Appeal also sits at the Royal Courts of Justice. The Criminal Division
hears appeals from Crown Court cases, while the Civil Division receives appeals from
the High Court, tribunals and, in certain cases, county courts. The work is handled by
three 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 and
administrative 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 the
authority must do what is required by law. Others are discretionary, allowing an
authority to provide services if it wishes.
The main link between local authorities and central government is the Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister. However, other departments, such as the Department for
Education and Skills, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of
Health and the Home Office, are also concerned with various local government
functions. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, local authorities now deal mainly
with the devolved Parliament and Assemblies.
About two million people are employed by local authorities in the UK. These include
school teachers, the police, firefighters and other non-manual and manual workers.
Education is the largest locally-provided service, with 0.9 million full-time equivalent
jobs. Councils are individually responsible, within certain legislative requirements, for
deciding the structure of their workforces.
Every part of the UK is covered by a local authority fire service. Each of the 59 fire
authorities must by law provide a firefighting service and must maintain a brigade to
meet all normal requirements. Each fire authority appoints a Chief Fire Officer, or
Firemaster in Scotland, who has day-to-day control of operations.
In June 2003, responsibility for the overall management of relations between the UK
Government and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland has moved from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to the
8
Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). ODPM remains responsible for the
English region. The highest priority was given to the creation of a Parliament in
Scotland and a National Assembly for Wales because the demand for decentralisation
in these countries was strong.
Source: Direct Government of UK: Local Government Powers (edited)
9
3. The State and Civil Society
3.1 Ombudsperson
The office of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Parliamentary
Ombudsman) was created in 1967. During the next ten years other public sector
ombudsmen were appointed, so that by the end of the 1970s there were
parliamentary, health and local government ombudsmen services in each country of
the British Isles. In 1981 the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau, the first private sector
ombudsman scheme, which was followed by many others in the private sector. In
2001 a number of voluntary schemes (banking, building societies, insurance and
investment) were brought together to form a statutory Financial Ombudsman
Service.
There are many public and private ombudsman that have been incorporated in the
United Kingdom Ombudsman Association and became the British and Irish
Ombudsman Association when membership was extended to include ombudsmen
from 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 legal
context for all of them. They include: (i) charities – organizations of volunteers
regulated by the government (“The Charities Commission”) and receiving tax
benefits 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, the
union for public sector workers in local authorities; (iii) professional bodies – such as
the Law Society that regulates the profession of lawyers; (iv) pressure groups – that
stand for economic interests, e.g., the Confederation of British Industry; (v) thinktanks – such as the Fabian Society– that argue specific policy lines; (vi) nondepartmental public bodies – that use public money in a public context but are only
loosely controlled by Ministers, such as the Sports or Arts Councils.
Source: Profile of National Public Administrations: United Kingdom (2000)
10
4. Civil Service
The civil service has no separate constitutional responsibility. The constitutional and
practical role of the cvil service in Great Britain is to help the Government of the
United Kingdom, the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales
formulate their policies, carry out decisions and administer public services for which
they are responsible. A separate Northern Ireland Civil Service was created in 1921
to serve the local administration. Its present role is to support the Northern Ireland
Executive 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 the
Civil Service Order in Council 1995 and the Diplomatic Service Order in Council 1991,
as amended. They have two responsibilities: (i) to maintain the fundamental
principle in recruitment to the Civil Service of selection on merit on the basis of fair
and open competition, including the approval of appointments by recruitment to the
most senior levels in the Civil Service; and (ii) to hear and determine appeals under
the Civil Service Code.
Source: Profile of National Public Administrations: United Kingdom (2000)
4.1 Legal basis
The public administration is entirely subject to the law but there is no specific Civil
Service Act or legal provision that prescribes specific duties or rights to public
servants. The Civil Service Code, introduced in 1996, is a concise statement of the
role and responsibilities of civil servants. It was revised in 1999 to take account of
devolution. The Code includes an independent line of appeal to the Civil Service
Commissioners on alleged breaches of the Code
Source: Profile of National Public Administrations: United Kingdom (2000) & Direct Government of UK: the civil service
commission (2006)
The Commissioners derive their responsibilities and powers from the Civil Service
Order in Council 1995 and the Diplomatic Service Order in Council 1991, as
amended.
Source: UK Civil Service Commissioner (2006)
4.2 Recruitment
Recruitment is the responsibility of individual departments, with the exception of
senior civil servants. The role of the Civil Service Commission is to provide a
framework based on the civil service recruitment principles. Recruitment into the
Civil Service is regulated by the Civil Service Order in Council 1995 and the
Diplomatic Service Order in Council 1991. Both of these Orders have been amended.
The Orders in Council require the Civil Service Commissioners to: (i) maintain the
principle of appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition in
recruitment to the civil service; (ii) prescribe and publish a recruitment code on the
interpretation and application of the principle; (iii) incorporate in the code certain
restricted circumstances in which exceptions to the principle can be made; approve
11
appointments at the most senior levels in the Civil Service; and (iv) audit the
recruitment systems of departments and agencies for compliance with the code. In
addition, the Commissioners are empowered by the Orders to require departments
and agencies to publish information about their recruitment.
Furthermore. a new system of recruitment audits –the Recruitment Compliance
Monitoring – following a review in 2003-2004 of our approach to audit and the retendering 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 aims
at people currently working in the Civil Service - those with the potential to rise to
the highest levels of management.
Source: Department of Finance and Personnel (2004)
Recruitment is by department, after examination and interview in many cases. There
is no educational restriction but to reach the higher levels usually requires university
training.
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 to
Permanent Secretary. Usually a lower number signifies a higher grade (a Permanent
Secretary is grade one) and any official may in theory rise to the top of the system
the Senior Civil Service. There is also a “fast stream” of specially selected and
trained officials.
Source: Profile of National Public Administrations: United Kingdom (2000)
4.4 Remuneration
All Government departments and executive agencies have responsibility for their own
pay and grading systems for all civil servants outside of the Senior civil service. In
addition to this departments also have responsibility for their own recruitment
although there are some websites that deal with recruitment across the civil service
as a whole.
Source: Civil Service Commissioner Annual Report (2004-2005)
The Performance and Reward Division is situated within the Civil Service Corporate
Management group of the Cabinet Office. It supports best practice personnel
management policies within the Civil Service. The division is organised into three
branches. The first deals with delegated Civil Service performance management and
pay systems. The second deals with future performance management and pay
systems for the Senior Civil Service, and the third deals with the maintenance of
Senior 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 depends
the location of work and the overall package can vary from department to
12
department. There is also a pension provision, which costs maximum of 3.5% of
salary.
Source: Civil Service Fast stream (2006)
4.5 Training
The Cabinet Office’s Corporate Development Group acts as a central coordination
centre for training to ensure standards across the Civil Service and supports
government departments’ training requirements. In addition, the National School of
Government is responsible for providing the public sector with core skills training and
professional development aligned to the requirements of the Government. There are
also 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 bring
people together from across all parts of the Public Sector. This network enables
members 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 to
develop individuals and organisations. The scheme is open to individuals in the Public
Sector organisations within the UK. Learning about different cultures is given further
impetus 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 learning
underpinned 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 is
a clear policy to be followed in dealing with complaints. There must be no unfair
discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual
orientation, religion or belief, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, or (in
Northern Ireland) community background, working pattern, employment status,
gender identity (transgender), caring responsibility, trade union membership.
Whilst Departments themselves determine their diversity priorities, and are
accountable for their own decisions and actions, Cabinet Office is responsible for
ensuring that the Civil Service as a whole meets the Government's commitment to
achieving greater representation of minority ethnic staff, women and staff with
disabilities 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 the
diversity of the population.
Source: The UK Civil Service – Civil Service Diversity (2005)
13
5. Ethics and Civil Service
5.1 Corruption
2003 CPI Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by
business people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0
(highly corrupt).
Corruption Perceptions Index
2003 CPI
Score
Surveys
Used
Standard
Deviation
High-Low
Range
Number
Inst.
90 percent
confidence
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 Parliament’s Public
Accounts 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 of
the 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 to
Parliament 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 real
improvements in the delivery of public services.
Under the law the NAO are responsible for auditing the accounts of all Government
departments and agencies and to report the results to Parliament. Individual
accounts can range from the Department for Work and Pensions, to the Passport
Agency. The NAO also audits over half of the 'arms-length' public bodies (known as
non-Departmental public bodies), In total, we audit over 550 accounts per year, and
total 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 in
carrying 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 all
holders of public office.
14
Recommendations in a 1995 report led to the appointment of a Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards and a Commissioner for Public Appointments. Other
reports have resulted in:
•
•
•
•
•
changes in the ethical framework for local government, including the
establishment 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 into
complaints about alleged breaches of the rules by Members. The Commissioner
reports to the House of Commons Select Committee on Standards and Privileges.
The Commons has a public register of Members of Parliaments' financial - and some
non-financial - interests. Members with a financial interest must declare it when
speaking in the House or in Committee and must indicate it when giving notice of a
question or motion. They must also disclose any relevant financial interest in other
proceedings of the House and in dealings with other Members, ministers or civil
servants. 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 is
responsible for monitoring, regulating and auditing ministerial appointments to a
range of public bodies.
Source: Direct Government of UK - Introduction to the judicial System (2006)
15
6. e-Government
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
Web Measure Index:
A scale based on
progressively
sophisticated web
services present.
Coverage and
sophistication of stateprovided e-service and
e-product availability
correspond to a
numerical classification.
an
a
da
SA
C
U
pa
n
Ja
G
er
m
an
y
ce
0
U
The index is comprised
of three sub-indexes:
Web Measure Index,
Telecommunications
Infrastructure Index and
Human Capital Index.
e-Government Readiness Index
Fr
an
The index refers to the
generic 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.
6.1 e-Government Readiness
K
e-Government
Readiness Index:
Source: United Nations – World Public Sector Report 2003
Web Measure Index
Telecom. Infrastructure Index
Human Capital Index
1
0.9
0.8
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
C
an
a
da
SA
U
Ja
pa
n
m
an
y
G
er
Fr
a
nc
e
0
K
Primary indicators are:
PC’s, Internet users,
online population and
Mobile phones.
Secondary indicators
are TVs and telephone
lines.
0.7
U
Telecommunications
Infrastructure Index:
A composite, weighted
average index of six
primary indices, based
on basic infrastructural
indicators that define a
country's ICT infrastructure capacity.
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.
16
e-Participation Index
6.2 e-Participation
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
C
an
ad
a
SA
U
Ja
pa
n
G
er
m
an
y
0
Fr
an
ce
Refers to the willingness, on the part of
the government, to
use ICT to provide
high quality information (explicit knowledge) and effective
communication tools
for the specific
purpose of empowerring people for able
participation in
consultations and
decision-making both
in their capacity as
consumers of public
services and as
citizens.
U
K
e-Participation
Index:
Source: United Nations – World Public Sector Report 2003
e-information:
The government
websites offer
information on
policies and
programs, budgets,
laws and regulations,
and other briefs of
key public interest.
Tools for disseminating of information
exist for timely access
and use of public
information, including
web forums, e-mail
lists, newsgroups and
chat rooms.
e-information
e-decision making
e-consultation
30
25
20
15
10
e-decision making:
5
ad
a
Ca
n
US
A
Ja
pa
n
an
y
G
er
m
Fr
an
ce
0
UK
The government
indicates that it will
take citizens input
into account in
decision making and
provides actual
feedback on the
outcome of specific
issues.
Source: United Nations – World Public Sector Report 2003
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.
17
7. Links
7.1 National sites
Authority
Topic
UK 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
UK National Audit Office
http://www.direct.gov.uk/
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
18