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Public Administration

UK: Westminster Parliamentary Administration

Comparative Administration: USA, UK, France, China

Paper III · Unit 2 Section 4 of 12 0 PYQs 25 min
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UK: Westminster Parliamentary Administration

3.1 The Westminster Model

The UK follows an unwritten constitutional framework built on statutes, conventions, and common law. Key features:

  • Parliamentary sovereignty: Parliament can make or unmake any law — no single written constitution above Parliament.
  • Fusion of powers: Executive (Cabinet) drawn from and accountable to Legislature (Parliament) — opposite of US separation.
  • Collective Cabinet Responsibility: All Cabinet ministers defend government decisions publicly even if they disagree privately. Resignation required if they cannot.
  • Individual Ministerial Responsibility: Ministers are personally accountable for their departments — resignations over departmental failures (e.g., Home Secretary Priti Patel, 2022).

3.2 The UK Civil Service

The Northcote–Trevelyan Report (1854) is the founding document of modern British civil service. Its recommendations:

  1. Entry by open competitive examination (not patronage)
  2. Distinction between intellectual and mechanical work
  3. Promotion by merit, not seniority
  4. Unified service across departments

Current structure:

  • Cabinet Secretary: Head of the UK Civil Service; also leads the Cabinet Office; equivalent to India's Cabinet Secretary.
  • Permanent Secretaries: Head of each government department; politically neutral and retained across governments.
  • Senior Civil Service (SCS): ~5,000 top officials below Permanent Secretary level.

Key reforms:

  • Fulton Committee Report (1968): Criticised the civil service as a "cult of the amateur" — recommended specialist training, more meritocracy, a Civil Service College.
  • Next Steps Initiative (1988): Created executive agencies (e.g., DVLA, HM Prison Service) to deliver services separately from policy-making. By 2000, 75% of civil servants worked in agencies.
  • Modernising Government White Paper (1999): Introduced joined-up government, e-government, and public service agreements (PSAs).

3.3 Parliament and Administrative Control

The UK Parliament exercises control through:

  • Question Hour (PMQs): Prime Minister's Questions every Wednesday — strong public accountability mechanism.
  • Parliamentary Select Committees: Scrutinise government departments (e.g., Public Accounts Committee — examines government expenditure).
  • Public Accounts Committee (PAC): Assisted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) — scrutinises Treasury accounts.