ABSTRACT
The creation of the Commission was not the only element in the development of a unified civil service, but it was, without doubt, the most important element. The term ‘unified civil service’ in this British context refers to recruitment in accordance with specified principles and procedures; to a service with allegiance to the monarch as head of state, not to a partisan government; to work in a democratic context, involving accountability to the elected government within a parliamentary framework; and consequently to an ethos or ethic characterised by an emphasis on public service. The alternative view prevailed after the Second World War, and from that time there was increasing devolution of recruitment to individual departments, especially in the regions away from London. The important decision to create the Recruitment and Assessment Services agency from the Commission was a consequence of the then government’s policy to create agencies.
