ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this chapter is to provide a contextual discussion of the role of the civil service in the United Kingdom. It commences by tracing the origins of the modern civil service by assessing the impact of the reforms associated with the Northcote-Trevelyan Report. In particular, against the background of an emerging administrative State, the text identifies the formulation of the principal features and characteristics of a professional hierarchical structure for a civil service increasingly tasked with the complexity of policy implementation. Subsequent sections of the chapter arranged thematically address crucial issues which have arisen in the UK context including the legal status of Crown servants and the role of informal regulation under codes of practice; the drawing up of departmental boundaries and the configuration of the civil service as part of a system of multilayered governance; the introduction of market-inspired managerial innovation under Next Steps and subsequent initiatives; the role of specialisation and professional expertise; and the contribution of special (political) advisers. Finally, from a constitutional standpoint the issue of constitutional accountability under current arrangements provides the overarching theme for this critical overview.
