Letter from the First Civil Service Commissioner

In last year’s report I looked forward to a busy and challenging year as the Constitutional Renewal Bill made its way through Parliament. The Commissioners, like so many others, warmly welcomed the government’s intention to enshrine the core values of the Civil Service in legislation and to put the Commissioners on a statutory footing.

It has indeed been a busy and challenging year for the Commissioners. However, despite considerable public focus on constitutional issues, legislation on the Civil Service has not yet been introduced to Parliament. We therefore welcome the confirmation in the Government’s draft legislative programme, published at the end of June 2009, that the Constitutional Renewal Bill is intended for introduction before the end of the current Parliamentary session.

The importance of Civil Service legislation

As a team, the Civil Service Commissioners continue to believe that the constitutional position of the Civil Service and the core values that underpin its effectiveness are so important that they need the protection of statute. It should not be possible to change the essential values of the Civil Service without proper Parliamentary debate and scrutiny. This is not to fossilise the Civil Service and put it beyond reform and improvement. Rather it is to ensure that change, which is inevitable, will not sweep away the core values of Honesty, Integrity, Impartiality and Objectivity and recruitment on merit that have been the bedrock of the effectiveness of the service for so long.

Improvement and clarity

Although there was uncertainty during the year whether Civil Service legislation would be introduced, much valuable work was done in consideration of the draft Bill. As we outline in this report, we have already brought forward some of the provisions of the draft legislation. Where there were improvements that we could introduce now, without the need of legislation, we thought it right that we did not wait. The draft legislation proposed that we replace our Recruitment Code with Recruitment Principles to further emphasise our role as a strategic regulator. We have done this from 1 April 2009. Our new Recruitment Principles, which are mandatory for departments and agencies, are high level and focussed. They set out our interpretation of the principle of appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. They make it clear that it is for agencies and departments to determine their own recruitment policies and practices, and test them against our Principles.

The Recruitment Principles are one example where we have sought to bring further clarity to our role. Another example is our new guide to the approach of the Civil Service Commissioners in chairing senior competitions. This brings together in one place clear and comprehensive guidance and resources to explain exactly how we will discharge our role as chair of the panel of senior recruitment competitions, in line with our own Recruitment Principles. I am pleased to say that it has been widely welcomed by departments and agencies