What is the British civil service system?

Her Majesty’s Home Office is the general term for the civil servants who serve as permanent officers in the British government departments. It is a permanent bureaucracy whose responsibility is to assist cabinet ministers responsible to the British monarch and Parliament, including foreign affairs. All central government civil servants other than officers, and civil servants of the Scottish and Welsh governments.

Civil servants in the United Kingdom are employees of the Crown, including unelected and non-politically appointed officials of the central government system, excluding elected or politically appointed cabinet members and Parliamentary officials such as parliamentary secretaries and political secretaries of various ministries also do not include officials of the military, police, local governments and enterprises and institutions established by Congress, employees of the national health system and royal family officials.

Many Commonwealth countries have similar government civil service systems. Its characteristics are:

1. Political neutrality: Civil servants will not be replaced due to the change of the ruling party. The main job of civil servants is to implement policies, not to formulate them. If policies fail, civil servants do not need to step down to ensure social stability.

2. Select the best: Civil servants are recruited through a relatively neutral examination system to ensure the talents of civil servants.

The Ministry of the Interior is a politically neutral agency whose function is to impartially implement the policy plans of the democratically elected government.

Like all servant crowns, civil servants are legally prohibited from running for office as members of Parliament because they are obliged to uphold a duty of political neutrality. Under regulations first adopted in 1954 and revised in 1984, members of the senior civil service (the highest management level) are prohibited from serving in political parties or publicly expressing controversial political views, while mid-level civil servants are prohibited from serving as senior civil servants. ?

The (Management) level generally must seek permission to participate in political activities. The most junior civil servants may participate in political activities but must maintain political neutrality in the performance of their duties.

In the period leading up to the general election, civil servants experienced late nights, which further restricted their activities.

Historical evolution

The general term for British civil service examinations, appointments, assessments, rewards and punishments, training, wages, benefits, promotions, transfers, resignations, retirements, job classifications and management agencies. It is an important part of the British political system.

The British civil service system was established in the mid-19th century. Before the 19th century, legislative and administrative powers were concentrated in the king, and officials were appointed and dismissed based on a gift system. In 1688, a constitutional monarchy was established. The appointment and dismissal of important officials were controlled by the majority party in the parliament, and private appointments were prevalent. The "Public Administration Clarification Act" of 1700 stipulates that, except for ministers and ministers of state, other officials are not allowed to be members of the lower house of parliament.

Since then, British officials have been divided into administrative officers and affairs officers. At the beginning of the 19th century, agencies such as the Ministry of Finance had Parliamentary Undersecretaries and Permanent Undersecretaries under the Minister. In 1830, permanent undersecretaries were established in most ministries, and the civil service system took shape.

In 1853, Parliament organized a special committee to investigate the government official system and personnel system, and proposed the "Maclay Report". It is advocated that the selection criteria should pay attention to generalism, that is, general education level and adaptability, and opposes the application of technology and specialized knowledge as the selection conditions; staff appointments must go through an open competitive examination. After passing the assessment, they will receive training for two years and be assigned jobs based on their performance.

This report had a great impact on the British civil service system. The Aberdeen Government appointed S. Northcote and C.E. Duwilliam to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the appointment of officials. In 1854, the two men proposed the Northcote-Duwilliam Report, the "Report on the Establishment of a Permanent Civil Service in the United Kingdom." It proposes the causes of administrative inefficiency and 4 important recommendations. This laid the foundation for the British civil service system.

In May 1855, the government promulgated the first Privy Council Order on the reform of the civil service system, establishing a three-member Civil Service Commission that was free from party interference and independently presided over examination and election affairs. On June 4, 1870, the government issued the second Privy Council Order on the reform of the civil service system, establishing an open competitive examination system.

The two Privy Council Orders established the important principles of the British civil service system. The promulgation of the Privy Council Order in 1870 is usually regarded as a symbol of the formal establishment of the British civil service system. Thereafter, the government established various committees from 1875 to 1930 to investigate and study issues related to the personnel system, and promulgated some new orders and regulations.

From 1944 to 1945, the government implemented two reforms: a new training plan for civil servants and a new assessment method. The Fulton Report in 1968 carried out a comprehensive design of the British civil service system, and the government adopted some of the reform measures. This was the most significant reform in the British civil service system.