Accountability in Civil Service recruitment
| Author | Richard A. Chapman |
| Published date | 01 July 1998 |
| Date | 01 July 1998 |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207679801300301 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
EDITORIAL
Accountability
in
Civil
Service
recruitment
Richard
A.
Chapman
University
of
Durham
The
one
hundred
and
thirty-first
report
of
the
Civil
Service
Commissioners
(relating
to
the
period
from
1
April
1997
to
31
March
1998)
is
the
first
to
be
published
to
cover
a
period
under
the
Labour
Government
elected
in
1997.
It
is
therefore
the
first
to
be
published
on
a
year
of
work
under
a
non-Conservative
Government
since
the
Civil
Service
Commission,
as
a
department,
was
abolished
in
1991.
Like
its
predecessors,
this
report
is
worth
reading
with
care
because
it
reflects
the
approach
to
management
approved
by
the
present
government
and
provokes
in
readers
important
questions
about
public
policy
and
administration
in
the
British
civil
service.
There
are
now
nine
Civil
Service
Commissioners,
one
less
than
in
1996-97,
though
there
were
never
as
many
before
the
Order
in
Council
of
1991
which
brought
fundamental
changes
to
the
work
of
recruitment
to
the
civil
service.
All
the
Civil
Service
Commissioners
are
now
part-time.
The
First
Commis-
sioner
is
appointed
for
three
days
a
week
and
is
paid
£69,374
a
year;
the
other
Commissioners
serve
for
two
or
three
days
a
month
and
are
entitled
to
a
daily
fee
of
£250.
None
is
a
serving
civil
servant,
though
two,
Mr
David
Burr
and
Mr
Clifford
Stevens,
were
formerly
departmental
establishment
officers.
Sir
Michael
Bett,
the
First
Commissioner,
is
currently
Chairman
of
Cellnet,
President
of
the
Institute
of
Personnel
and
Development,
Chairman
of
the
Save
the
Children
Fund
and
Chairman
of
the
Independent
Review
of
Higher
Education
Pay
and
Conditions.
The
two
women
Commissioners
are
Ms
Sheila
Forbes,
previously
Director
of
Human
Resources
at
Reed
Elsevier
plc,
and
currently
a
non-executive
director
of
Lloyds
TSB
Group
plc,
Chair
of
the
Board
of
Governors
of
Thames
Valley
University
and
an
independent
consultant;
and
Ms
Judith
Hunt,
Chief
Executive
of
the
Local
Government
Management
Board,
a
Trustee
of
Common
Purpose
and
a
member
of
the
Research
Priorities
Board
of
the
Economic
and
Social
Research
Council.
The
other
four
Commissioners
are
Mr
Hector
McLean,
formerly
Personnel
and
Management
Services
Director
of
ICI's
Agricultural
Division,
Appointments
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
13
No.
3
Autumn
1998
I
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