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Kavanagh et al: British Politics 5e

Chapter 12

The core executive II: ministers, civil servants and power dependency

The UK Civil Service
www.civilservice.gov.uk/
The website of the UK civil service provides a number of useful resources for students wanting to explore the role of civil servants in greater depth. The 'About Us' section provides useful general information on issues including the diversity and neutrality of the Civil Service. Most useful, however, is the material on the history of the Civil Service. In the publications section you can find the civil service code as well as speeches, not least from the current Cabinet Secretary and head of the home civil service, Sir Gus O'Donnell.

The Cabinet Office: Propriety and Ethics
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/
The propriety and ethics section of the Cabinet Office's website provides information on a number of issues which are addressed in Chapter 12. Here you can find the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code, the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers and the 'Osmotherly Rules' – the guidance for Civil Servants giving evidence before Select Committees.

How to be a Civil Servant
www.civilservant.org.uk/index.html
An excellent website maintained by Martin Stanley, a senior civil servant who is currently Chief Executive of the Competition Commission. The site is divided into two sections. The first section, 'Introductory Stuff', provides useful basic and historical information on the nature of the British Civil Service back as far as the Northcote-Trevelyan Report. The second section focuses on the issues of reform and efficiency which have preoccupied recent governments.

The House of Commons Public Administration Committee
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmpubadm.htm
This link takes your to the reports and minutes of evidence of the Public Administration Committee. This committee has responsibility to "consider matters relating to the quality and standards of administration provided by civil service departments, and other matters relating to the civil service". In each parliamentary session there will be a number of reports relating to the civil service each of which draws upon evidence from civil servants, ministers and academics.

The Guardian: Whitehall
politics.guardian.co.uk/whitehall/
This is the section of the Guardian newspaper's website which is devoted to news and analysis of issues relating to Whitehall. The collection of articles to be found here is eclectic to say the least; nevertheless you will find much that is relevant to the issues discussed in this chapter.