ABSTRACT
It is the minister who represents the public face of the department and who speaks for the department in Parliament. The doctrine is underpinned by Parliamentary Question Time and in debates in Parliament and in committees. During the passage of legislation relating to a particular department’s responsibilities, it is the minister who will introduce the Bill and who will defend the Bill throughout its passage through the House of Commons. The minister thus stands as the link between the Civil Service and Parliament, assuming full responsibility for the department. As seen in Chapter 9, the conventionally-recognised characteristics of the Civil Service are permanence, political neutrality and anonymity. The civil servant owes his or her duty to the government of the day, and is directly accountable to his or her Secretary of State. The principle of ministerial responsibility to Parliament not only underpins the doctrine of democratic responsibility of ministers to the people through Parliament, but also facilitates the distinction between the responsibility of elected representatives and the civil servants who are responsible for the practical implementation of policy.
