1 Introduction
1. On 18 September 2014, the Scottish public voted
for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom. The roles played
by civil servants in both Scotland and London in the period before
the vote were subject to criticism and controversy and there is
remaining uncertainty about how the Civil Service should be regarded.
This Committee's inquiry studied the referendum process and considered
the question: what role should civil servants play in referendums?
This inquiry has therefore been narrow, but we are mindful that
the Civil Service will benefit from lessons we have drawn from
the Scottish referendum to safeguard its impartiality in any future
referendums.
Background
2. The Civil Service is the permanent, unified and
politically neutral secretariat of Crown employees that support
Her Majesty's Government, as well as two of the three devolved
administrations: the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government,
but not the Northern Ireland Executive.
3. The modern Civil Service arose from the review
commissioned by William Gladstone in 1853, from Charles Trevelyan,
Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, who was assisted by Sir Stafford
Northcote, a former civil servant at the Board of Trade. The final
report was published in February 1854 and established the principle
of a permanent and unified Civil Service. The report also enshrined
the service with the "core values of integrity, propriety,
objectivity and appointment on merit, able to transfer its loyalty
and expertise from one elected government to the next".[1]
This settlement has endured.
4. Over 160 years later, there is no doubt that devolution
has presented a major challenge for the Civil Service. It altered
both the political environment and the nature of the work, not
just in the devolved administrations but also in UK departments
that deal with the devolved administrations.
Tensions highlighted by the Scottish
referendum
5. The referendum campaign exposed two major issues.
First, the question of how a unified Civil Service can serve both
HM Government and the Scottish Government. Second, the challenges
to Civil Service impartiality generated by the Scottish independence
referendum. Particular concerns were raised that the Scottish
Government's White Paper, Scotland's Future, did not uphold
the factual standards expected of a UK Government White Paper,
and there was concern that the publication of normally confidential
advice by the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury called into
question the impartiality of the Civil Service.
Scope of the inquiry
6. We launched our inquiry in February 2014 in order
to explore how the 'political impartiality' of the Civil Service
had been interpreted during the Scottish independence referendum.
We considered the dual obligations of civil servants to their
ministers and to the UK Civil Service as a whole, and investigated
the extent to which civil servants have complied with the Civil
Service Code. Arising from this our recommendations are intended
to protect the Civil Service's reputation for impartiality, to
provide clarity so the Civil Service will better understand how
to conduct themselves in referendums, and to maintain public confidence
in any future referendums.
7. Over the course of this inquiry we took evidence
from both sides of the referendum debate, including the Scottish
and UK Governments, the Scottish and UK Civil Service, and commentators
on the referendum debate. We thank those that have contributed
and taken an interest in our inquiry, with particular thanks to
our Specialist Advisers, Professor Robert Pyper and Richard Gordon
QC.[2]
Written submissions and transcripts of the six oral evidence sessions
we held are available on our website at
www.parliament.uk/pasc.
1 Professor Peter Hennessy, Founder's Day address,
Hawarden Castle 8 July 1999, cited in Whither the Civil Service,
Research Paper 03/49, House of Commons Library, May 2003 Back
2
Professor Robert Pyper was appointed as a Specialist Adviser for
this inquiry on 23 June 2014. He declared no relevant interests.
Richard Gordon QC was appointed as a Specialist Adviser for this
inquiry on 16 July 2014. He declared no relevant interests. Back
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