Select Committee on the Constitution
Permanent secretaries: their appointment and removal
17th Report of Session 2022-23 - published 20 October 2023 - HL Paper 258
Contents
Constitutional position and role of the civil service
Box 1: Key principles of the Armstrong memorandum
The Northcote–Trevelyan report
Roles of permanent secretaries and other senior civil servants
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service
Chapter 2: Appointment process
Underlying principles of appointments system
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
Box 2: The Recruitment Principles: the role of the Civil Service Commission in senior appointments
Box 3: The Recruitment Principles: the involvement of ministers
Changes to the current system?
Appointment of the Cabinet Secretary
Involvement of special advisers
External and internal appointments
Dismissal on performance or misconduct grounds
Table 1: Figures on the average tenure of permanent secretaries since 2010
Table 2: Average years in role for permanent secretaries since June 2019
Poor relationship between a permanent secretary and secretary of state
Political or ideological grounds
Chapter 4: Politicisation in appointments and departures
Politicisation or personalisation?
Is broad political alignment necessary or desirable?
Risks to the accounting officer role
Box 4: The standards expected for projects and proposals
Chapter 5: Permanent secretaries in devolved administrations
Appointment of permanent secretaries in Scotland and Wales
Position of permanent secretaries in devolved nations
Boundary between devolved competence and reserved matters
Summary of conclusions and recommendations
Appendix 1: List of Members and declarations of interest
Evidence is published online at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7319/the-appointment-and-dismissal-of-permanent-secretaries-and-other-senior-civil-servants/publications/ and available for inspection at the Parliamentary Archives (020 7219 3074).
Q in footnotes refers to a question in oral evidence.