Britain’s Modernised Civil Service

This introduction to the historical development, nature, organisation and role of the British Civil Service provides an insight into the importance of a key institution which lies at the heart of the system of government and politics.

This comprehensively revised replacement volume for Robert Pyper’s popular text The British Civil Service explains and assesses the impact on the civil service of the historic Whitehall unitary model, the New Public Management of Thatcher and Major and the modernisation agenda of the Blair government. It provides a broad-ranging introduction to the civil service today and of the demands and pressures it faces from political leaders, policy-makers and citizen-users within the multi-governmental context of devolution and EU membership.

JUNE BURNHAM was formerly Senior Lecturer in European Government, Middlesex University, UK.

Introduction: Mapping the Territory * Perspectives on ‘Decline’ and ‘Modernization’ * Policy Issues and Processes at the Heart of Government * Multi-Level Mandarins and Complex Structures * Restructuring for Efficiency, Control and Deliver * Accountability, Freedom of Information and Open Government * The Human and Organizational Dimension * Conclusion: Whither the Civil Service?