Civil Service Commission (United Kingdom) Explained

The Civil Service Commission regulates recruitment to the United Kingdom Civil Service, providing assurance that appointments are on merit after fair and open competition, and hears appeals under the Civil Service Code. The commission is independent of government and the Civil Service.The Civil Service Commission was established by Gladstone through an order in council on 21 May 1855 following publication of the Northcote–Trevelyan Report by Charles Trevelyan and Stafford Northcote that advocated the decoupling of appointments of senior civil servants from ministers to ensure the impartiality of the Civil Service.^[1]

Following a report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, "Defining the Boundaries within the Executive: Ministers, special advisers and the permanent Civil Service" in 2003, the appointment of the First Civil Service Commissioner is made by Government after consultation with the leaders of the main opposition parties.^[2] They are then appointed by the King under royal prerogative. The First Civil Service Commissioner is appointed for a fixed term of five years, although another commissioner may act as an interim First Commissioner when necessary.

Civil Service Code

The Civil Service Code is a set of regulations that govern the conduct of civil servants in the UK.^[3] The regulations are broadly based on the Seven Principles of Public Life.^[4] First introduced in 2006 and later updated in 2015, the code has four main principals that public sector workers must be held accountable to: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

List of First Civil Service Commissioners

• Sir Edward Ryan (1855–75)
• John Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton (1875–1880)^[5]
• George Byng, Viscount Enfield (later 3rd Earl of Strafford) (1880–88)
• ...
• William Courthope (1892–1907)^[6]
• Lord Francis Hervey (1907-1909)^{[7] [8]}
• Sir Stanley Leathes (1910–1927)^[9]
• Sir Roderick Meiklejohn, KBE CB (1927–1939)^[10]
• Sir Percival Waterfield (1939–1951)^[11]
• Sir Paul Sinker (1951–1954)^[12]
• Laurence Helsby, Baron Helsby (1954–1959)^[13]
• Sir George Mallaby (1959–1964)^[14]
• Sir George Abell (1964-1967)^[15]
• John Hunt (1967–1971)^{[16] [17]}
• K. H. Clucas (1971–1974)
• Dr Fergus Allen (1974–1981)^[18]
• Angus Fraser (1981–1983)^[19]
• Dennis Trevelyan (1983–1989)^[20]
• John Holroyd (1989–1993)^[21]
• Dame Ann Bowtell (1993–1995)^[22]
• Sir Michael Bett (1995–2000)^[23]
• Usha Prashar, Baroness Prashar (2000–2005)^[24]
• Janet Paraskeva (2006–2010)^[25]
• Mark Addison (2011) (Interim)^[26]
• Sir David Normington (2011–2016)
• Kathryn Bishop (2016) (Interim)
• Ian Watmore (2016–2021)
• Rosie Glazebrook (2021) (Interim)
• Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (2022 -

Further reading

• Book: Chapman, Richard A . The Civil Service Commission, 1855–1991 : From Patronage to Proficiency . Frank Cass . 2004 . London . 978-0-7146-5340-2 . 56457389 .

External links

• Office of the Civil Service Commissioners

Notes and References

1. News: Walker . David . Fair game. The Guardian . 2003-07-09. 2003-07-09 . London.
2. Government publishes response to the ninth report of the committee on standards in public life . 10 Downing Street . 2003-09-11 . 2008-02-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070611003421/http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page4447.asp . 2007-06-11 .
3. Web site: Civil Service Code. 22 January 2021. Institute for Government.
4. Web site: 7 Rules for (Public) Life: The Nolan Principles in 2024. 9 February 2024. Civil Service College.
5. Chilcott. Paul . Pakington, John Somerset, first Baron Hampton (1799–1880) . 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/21149 . 2008-02-03 .
6. Book: Chapman, Richard A . The Civil Service Commission, 1855–1991: A Bureau Biography . Routledge . 2004 . 0-7146-5340-3. 107 .
7. Web site: Order-in-Council dated 12 August 1907. Appointment of Lord Francis Hervey as First Commissioner .... The National Archives . 2008-02-03 .
8. News: Civil Service Commission. 7 . The Times . August 8, 1907 .
9. Leathes, Sir Stanley Mordaunt (1861–1938). Dampier. W. C. D. H. C. G., Rev. . Matthew. H. C. G. Matthew. 2004. 10.1093/ref:odnb/34458. 2008-07-17.
10. News: First Civil Service Commissioner. 12 . The Times . November 12, 1927 .
11. Chapman. Richard A. Waterfield, Sir (Alexander) Percival (1888–1965). 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/66876. 2008-02-03 .
12. Lee. J M. Sinker, Sir (Algernon) Paul (1905–1977). 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/64548. 2008-02-03 .
13. Caulcott . Tom . Helsby, Laurence Norman, Baron Helsby (1908–1978) . 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/66857 . 2008-02-03 .
14. Gittings. Robert . Mallaby, Sir (Howard) George Charles (1902–1978) . 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/31402 . 2008-02-03 .
15. Ellis . Roger . Abell, Sir George Edmond Brackenbury (1904–1989). 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/39894 . 2008-02-03 .
16. News: First Civil Service Commissioner. 2 . The Times . September 21, 1967 .
17. News: Three appointments are made at the Treasury. 18 . The Times . February 25, 1971 .
18. News: Commissioner named . 18 . The Times . January 25, 1974.
19. News: Obituary: Sir Angus Fraser. July 18, 2001 . The Independent. 2008-07-18 . London.
20. News: Prison service head to recruit civil servants. 3 . The Times . March 5, 1983 .
21. News: Hughes. Colin. Parliament and Politics: New civil service key player. 8:Home News . The Independent. March 24, 1989 .
22. News: Woman takes top job – Ann Elizabeth Bowtell. February 12, 1993. The Times. 2.
23. News: Most civil servant – Michael Bett. March 16, 1995 . The Times.
24. News: Baroness Prashar appointed first Civil Service Commissioner. . M2 Presswire . 2000-04-19 . 2008-02-02 .
25. News: Law Society chief named new First Civil Service Commissioner . Personnel Today . Reed Business Information . 2005-12-22 . 2008-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110718094430/http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2005/12/22/33179/law-society-chief-named-new-first-civil-service-commissioner.html . 2011-07-18 . dead .
26. News: Letter from Cabinet Office. December 21, 2010 . 2016-04-04.