Parliamentary Accountability: A Study of Parliament and Executive Agencies

261 Pages·1995·24.21 MB·English

by  Philip Giddings (eds.)

PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY
Also byPhilip Giddings
MARKETINGBOARDS ANDMINISTERS
Parliamentary
Accountability
A Study ofParliament and
Executive Agencies
Edited by
Philip Giddings
LecturerinPolitics
UniversityofReading
for the Study of Parliament Group
Selection,editorialmatter,chapters4and 11 ©PhilipGiddings1995
Chapters1-3and5-10© MacmillanPressLtd1995
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DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-13682-7
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Contents
Page
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Part I: The Context of the Initiative
1 The Origins of the NextSteps Programme: Gavin Drewry
andPhilip Giddings 3
2 Ministerial Responsibility and NextSteps Agencies:
RobertPyper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3 Next Steps and Parliamentary Scrutiny: Barry Winetrobe 33
Part II: The Process of Scrutiny
4 The Treasury Committee and Next Steps Agencies:
Philip Giddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5 Departmental Select Committees and the NextSteps
Programme: DavidNatzler andPaul Silk 71
6 Financial Accountability: Agencies and Audit:
Priscilla Baines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7 Members of Parliament and Agencies: Parliamentary
Questions: PaulEvans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 119
8 Agencies and the Ombudsman: Philip Giddings . . . . . . . 139
Part III: Case Studies
9 The Environment Agencies: George Jones and
JuneBurnham withRobert Elgie , 155
10 The Department of Social Security and itsAgencies:
Patricia Greer , 191
11 Accountability and the Employment Service Agency:
Norman Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 203
Part IV: Reviewand Conclusions
12 Next Steps to Where? Philip Giddings 221
v
vi Contents
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Index 253
Preface
This book is based upon the work done by a study group set up by the
StudyofParliament Group(SPG) in 1990to monitortheconsequences for
Parliament of the Government's Next Steps Initiative, Asconvenor of the
group and editor of the book I have been grateful for the continuing
support and encouragement of the SPG and particularly its Executive
Committee inseeingtheworkthroughtocompletion. That support hasnot
been merelymoralsupport.TheSPGExecutivehasgenerously fundedthe
travellingexpenses of members of the study group as wellas some of the
costs of the preparation of the book for publication. For that we are
particularly grateful. To avoid misunderstanding I should, nevertheless,
makeclear at the outset that the SPG does not bear any responsibility for
the factsstatedor opinions expressed in this book.
Thatsame disclaimer also appliestothosewhogenerously gaveoftheir
time to talk to the study group and answer our questions about their
experience of the Next Steps programme: Don Brereton of the Prime
Minister's Efficiency Unit; Mike Goodson, Assistant Auditor General;
Giles Radice, MP, of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee; and
Peter Ryder, Director of Operations at the Meteorological Office. Peter
Kemp, as he then was, gave an illuminating address to the SPG annual
meeting in 1991. Priscilla Baines acted as our scribe for these meetings
with her customary efficiency and has been a continuing source of
encouragement to me as convenorof the group.
Tomonitor the consequences of developmentof a programme like the
Next Steps means that time must be allowed to reveal what those
consequences are. The research, andthe book whichis based upon it, has
therefore inevitably been a long time in the making. I would like,
therefore,to pay tribute to the patience and resilience of mycolleagues in
keeping faith with the project. Most of the initial group who expressed
interestinthe studyhaveremainedwithus andcontributed tothis volume,
manyofthem whilst carrying out heavy commitments elsewhere. The list
ofcontributors is appended to this preface. I am gratefulto them all.
Ishould also liketopayparticular tributeto thosewho haveassisted in
the task ofconvertingour findingsintothis book. Sheila Baxter, secretary
intheDepartment ofPoliticsattheUniversityofReading,didmuchofthe
early word processing and Lisa Hasell has brought those early drafts into
camera-ready formwithremarkablefacility.Simon Patrickgaveinvaluable
help with preparation of the tables and other aspects of the design of the
vii
viii Preface
book and Paul Evans has generously assisted in proof reading and
arranging for preparation of the index, for which we are indebted to Sue
Martin.
In the Preface to a book about accountability it is more than ever
necessary to make clear who is responsible for what. Broadly speaking,
as editor Itake responsibility forall matters ofeditorial policy,within the
guidelines helpfully provided byMacmillan, including the structure and
balance of the book, as well as (ofcourse) for those chapters which bear
my name. For the content of the other chapters, the particular authors,
individuallyorjointlyasthecasemaybe, takeresponsibility. Ifthatleaves
the reader with some lingering doubt about precisely who is responsible
forparticular passagesor words inthe text, then the reader has been well
initiated into the issues raised bya study of accountability.
Reading, Philip Giddings
October 1994
Contributors
Priscilla Baines is Deputy Librarian of the House of Commons. She
joined the Economic Affairs Section of the Research Division of the
Library in 1968, became head of section in 1977, head of the Science and
EnvironmentSection in 1988andthenHeadoftheParliamentaryDivision.
Her publicationsinclude contributionsto the Study of Parliament Group's
ParliamentandEconomicAffairs(1980) andto G. Drewry (ed.), The New
Select Committees: a Study ofthe1979Reforms (1989).
Gavin Drewry is Professor of Public Administration and Head of the
Department of Social Policy and Social Science, Royal Holloway and
Bedford New College, University of London. He has been a member of
the Study of Parliament Group since 1974 and written or edited several
books and many book chapters and academic articles on subjects mainly
related to parliamentary practice and procedure, the legislative process,
publiclawandpublicadministration. Hisbooksinclude: asco-author(with
Louis Blom-Cooper), Final Appeal: A Study oftheHouse ofLords inits
Judicial Capacity, (Clarendon Press, 1972), currently being revised; co
author (with Ivor Burton), Legislation andPublic Policy (Longman, 2nd
edition, 1981); editor and principal contributor, The New Select
Committees: a Study of the 1979 Reforms (Oxford University Press, for
the Study of Parliament Group, 2nd edition, 1989); co-author (with Tony
Butcher), The Civil Service Today (Blackwell, 2nd edition, 1991).
Paul Evans is currently a Clerk in the Public Bill Officeof the House of
Commons. He has beenaClerk inthe House ofCommons since 1981and
has worked for the Energy and Health Committees as well as in the Table
Office(which deals with Parliamentary Questions) and the Journal Office.
Philip Giddings lectures on Politics at the University of Reading. He is
author of Marketing Boards and Ministers (Saxon House, 1974) and a
number of articles on Parliament and public agencies. He has contributed
to several Study of Parliament Group publications, including The New
Select Committees: aStudy ofthe1979Reforms (Oxford University Press,
2nd edition, 1989)and Parliamentary Questions(Oxford University Press,
1993), and published articles on the Parliamentary and Health Service
Commissioners.
ix