Published
May 28, 2025Page count
240 pagesISBN
978-1529234923Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
May 28, 2025Page count
240 pagesISBN
978-1529234916Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
May 28, 2025Page count
240 pagesISBN
978-1529234930Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
The British Civil Service
Taking account of its evolution in recent decades, this book provides an up-to-date account of the role of the Civil Service in the UK.
The book offers a much-needed re-examination of the function and role of the Civil Service and considers the ways in which it has changed in response to today’s pressures. It examines the changing relationships between ministers, civil servants and special advisers (spADs), as well as investigating challenges to the principles of the Civil Service such as service outsourcing, COVID-19 responses and Brexit.
Asking whether the practices of the past are effective for the future, this book is a vital resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students of UK politics, public administration and public sector management.
Janice Morphet is a Visiting Professor at University College London. She has over fifty years of experience in local and central government as well as academia and has written and researched about Brexit, Covid, outsourcing, devolution and public services.
Introduction: What Is the Civil Service For?
Part 1: Issues
1. Recruitment and Management
2. How Does the Civil Service Develop Policy?
3. How Does the Civil Service Deliver Policy?
4. How Does the Civil Service Relate to the Outside World?
Part 2: Challenges
5. Relationships With Ministers
6. The Changing International Context of Policy Formation After Brexit
7. Devolution and the Role of the Union
8. Delivery Failures
Part 3: The Future
Conclusion: The Civil Service – Forwards or Back?
