Central government
All Standard Notes
55 Documents
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 15.05.2012 | FoI and Ministerial vetoes |
| The Lord Chancellor, Jack Straw, issued the first ministerial veto in relation to an FoI request on 23 February 2009 for the contents of the legal advice on military action against Iraq. Two subsequent vetoes have been issued protecting communications on devolution issues. A fourth veto was issued on 8 May 2012 blocking the release of the NHS Transitional Risk Register. This Standard Note traces the history of the veto within FoI legislation and summarises comparative examples abroad. | |
| 10.05.2012 | How the UK Government deals with EU Business |
| This Note looks at UK Government and Civil Service structures and culture; what happens at the UK-EU interface, and methods for transposing EU law into UK law. | |
| 18.04.2012 | Queen's Speech 2012 |
| This Standard Note gathers together speculation on the issues that might be included in the forthcoming Queen's Speech. | |
| 29.03.2012 | Orders under the Public Bodies Act 2011 |
| The Public Bodies Act 2011 received royal assent on 14 December 2011. The Act provides for orders to be brought forward to abolish, merge, modify the constitutional arrangements of; modify the funding arrangements of; and modify or transfer the functions of public bodies. | |
| 27.03.2012 | The Ministerial Code |
| This Note looks at the Ministerial Code and the developments connected with it since 2010. | |
| 02.03.2012 | Parliamentary involvement in public appointments |
| This note sets out the background to pre-appointment hearings; considers the operation of the hearings to date; and outlines the findings of research commissioned by the Cabinet Office and the Liaison Committee on the impact of the pilot. It also briefly reviews the Liaison Committee's proposals for reforming pre-appointment hearings in the light of that research. | |
| 14.02.2012 | Business Appointment Rules |
| This note explains how the rules operate which regulate the appointment of former Permanent Secretaries (and deputy secretaries) and former Ministers to posts in the private sector. The Rules were revised in 2011 to set out a new 'general principle' of a two year ban on former ministers lobbying Government after they leave This has been incorporated in the Ministerial Code. Revised rules were also issued for civil servants in February 2011. In January 2012 PASC announced a new inquiry into the current operation of the Business Appointment Rules. | |
| 02.02.2012 | Honours |
| This Note sets out the current operation of the Honours system and summarises the results of earlier reviews. | |
| 25.01.2012 | Lobbying |
| This note sets out issues relating to lobbying in the UK, including the announcement of the Government's consultation paper on a statutory register. It includes background to the Public Administration Select Committee's inquiry and the main findings of their report as well as the Government response. It also includes details of the 1991 Select Committee on Members' Interests report and the relevant work of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. | |
| 15.12.2011 | Special advisers |
| This Standard Note summarises developments regarding Special Advisers since 2000. | |
| 24.11.2011 | The Public Bodies Bill [HL] : Commons and remaining stages |
| This standard note covers the Commons stages of the Public Bodies Bill [HL] | |
| 16.11.2011 | Impeachment |
| This Note looks at the history of impeachment. | |
| 15.11.2011 | Investigatory inquiries and the Inquiries Act 2005 |
| The 2005 Act provides a statutory framework for inquiries into matters of public concern, but there are alternative ways of establishing inquiries of this nature. The various forms of inquiry are examined in this note. | |
| 11.08.2011 | Public Service Reform |
| This Standard Note provides background information on the Coalition Government's public service reform agenda and current ideas about commissioning public services. | |
| 11.08.2011 | Abolition of the COI |
| This Standard Note provides background information on the Coalition Government's decision to abolish the Central Office of Information (COI). | |
| 11.05.2011 | Progress of the Public Bodies Bill [HL] 2010-11 |
| This note briefly sets out the outcome of the review of public bodies before providing information on the progress of the Bill in the Lords so far. There is a Library Standard Note SN/PC/5609, Quangos, which sets out the background to the bill and general information about the 'quango debate'. | |
| 09.05.2011 | Parliamentary Private Secretaries |
| This note sets out the history, role, scope of, and restrictions on, the office of the Parliamentary Private Secretary. | |
| 09.03.2011 | Public records, freedom of information and the Royal Family |
| This Note outlines exemptions in the Freedom of Information act relating to the Royal Family, in addition to outlining attempts to create new exemptions through amendments to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill. Finally, the Note outlines the recommendations of the Dacre Review, for a reduction in the 30 year rule for public records, and related Government proposals. | |
| 07.03.2011 | Prime Ministers |
| This note lists the Prime Ministers that have served in the United Kingdom, since 1721. | |
| 31.01.2011 | Quangos |
| This note provides a short history of public bodies in the United Kingdom before looking at the size and cost of the quango state. It considers why the number and cost of quangos has been hard to control. It then looks at the accountability of public bodies and appointments mechanisms. It also sets out the main provisions of the Public Bodies Bill [HL] as introduced. The Library Standard Note SN/PC/5845, Progress of the Public Bodies Bill [HL] 2010-11 provides more detailed information on the Bill | |
| 13.12.2010 | Ministerial Residences |
| The Library receives numerous requests for information about ministerial residences, particularly details of costs and entitlement but also historical background. Such information is in the public domain but is scattered around many sources including, in particular, parliamentary questions. This note attempts to draw together some of that information. | |
| 23.11.2010 | Civil Service reform |
| This note outlines the Coalition Government's plans for the civil service. It also provides a very brief overview of civil service reform since 1979. | |
| 18.11.2010 | The Commissioner for Public Appointments |
| This note reviews the role and work of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. It additionally outlines the role of Ministers in public appointments. | |
| 09.11.2010 | Government Offices for the Regions |
| Government Offices for the English Regions are to be abolished | |
| 09.08.2010 | Limitations on the number of Ministers and the size of the Payroll vote |
| This standard note sets out the statutory limits on the number of appointments to paid ministerial posts and the proportion of Ministers in the Commons. This note also looks at recent proposals to reduce the number of Ministers and provides figures for the size of the payroll vote since 1979. | |
| 28.07.2010 | Freedom of Information: the first five years |
| The Freedom of Information Act came into force in January 2005. This note reviews the operation of the Act over the first five years of implementation. | |
| 27.07.2010 | Parliamentary Ombudsman: right of Appeal |
| Members often ask on behalf of their constituents whether there is any appeal against a decision by the Parliamentary Ombudsman (also called the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration). This note provides guidance on this subject. | |
| 20.07.2010 | PIL: Twentieth Century Prime Ministers and their Governments |
| 10.06.2010 | PIL: Special Advisers |
| 03.06.2010 | Hung parliaments |
| This note sets out situations where there has been no overall control in the House of Commons during the twentieth century. It considers precedents and conventions governing how the monarch might decide which party should form a government in such a situation, and when a request for a dissolution might be granted. The note also considers how a minority government or coalition might affect the work of Parliament. Lastly, it looks briefly at the formation of coalition governments in Scotland and Wales. | |
| 25.05.2010 | Women in Parliament and public service |
| Women make up 51% of the population of the UK, but only 22% of MPs are women. This note looks at women in Parliament, Government and other areas of public life. | |
| 10.02.2010 | Freedom of Information requests |
| This note gives a brief summary of the rights in relation to Freedom of Information (FoI) since the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on 1 January 2005, to enable requesters to understand the statutory background. | |
| 30.12.2009 | The Royal Prerogative |
| This note sets out the historical background to the Royal Prerogative before describing general prerogative powers and the Crown's personal prerogative powers. It then sets out recent proposals for reform. It does not provide detailed information on individual prerogative powers. | |
| 21.10.2009 | Misconduct in public office |
| This Note briefly sets out the history of the Common Law offence of 'misconduct in public office'. It looks at recent use of the offence in prosecutions and considers proposals to place the offence on a statutory footing. | |
| 23.09.2009 | Civil Service Legislation |
| This note sets out the Government's 2008 proposals for civil service legislation and the responses by the Joint Committee on the Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill and the Public Administration Select Committees. It also includes some details of the Bill published by the Public Administration Select committee, the Private Member's Bills introduced in the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the previous Bill published by the Government. | |
| 03.06.2009 | Crown Employment (Nationality) Bill 2006-07 |
| This Private Member's Bill is due for a second reading on Friday 12 June 2009. This Note gives background to its provisions which are designed to liberalise the nationality requirements for civil servants. | |
| 27.05.2009 | Electronic Government |
| This Standard Note describes e-Government, outlines Government efforts in this field, and related issues. | |
| 24.04.2009 | Effect of Budget 2009 on departmental expenditure |
| 30.12.2008 | Official Secrecy |
| This Note briefly charts the developments of the 'public interest' argument since the first Official Secrets Act of 1889 and considers recent developments. | |
| 25.06.2008 | Ministerial Salaries |
| This Standard Note sets out the background to and effect of the Ministerial and other Salaries Order 2008, which was laid before both Houses of Parliament in draft on 2 June 2008. | |
| 03.06.2008 | The Union Flag and Flags of the United Kingdom |
| The purpose of this Note is also to set out a brief history of the flags of the United Kingdom and to explain the current guidance issued by the DCMS. | |
| 30.04.2008 | The Central-Local Concordat |
| This note covers the central-local concordat signed in December 2007 in fulfilment of a pledge in the Governance of Britain Green Paper. | |
| 11.03.2008 | PIL: Ministers in the Conservative Governments: 1979-1997 |
| 28.02.2008 | Prime Ministerial involvement in senior ecclesiastical appointments |
| This note sets out the Government's proposals to reform the Prime Minister's involvement in senior ecclesiastical appointments and the response of the Church of England. | |
| 27.11.2007 | Fees for FoI requests |
| This Note looks at the Government plans to change the fees regime for Freedom of Information (FoI) requests announced in 2001. | |
| 20.06.2007 | The Scottish Parliamentary elections May 2007: The formation of the Scottish Executive and the election of a Presiding Officer |
| This Standard Note sets out the sequence of events leading to the formation of the current Scottish Executive. It also summarises the results of the election of the new Presiding Officer and the appointment of MSPs to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. | |
| 04.06.2007 | The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2006/07: Progress of the Bill |
| This Note updates Research Paper 07/18 The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, which was published on 21 February. Since then, this Bill has finished its Commons stages. | |
| 08.11.2006 | The office of Deputy Prime Minister |
| This Note gives the background to the office and the role of the Deputy Prime Minister. | |
| 04.05.2006 | Freedom of Information, data protection and papers of a previous administration |
| The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has now been in force from January 2005. This Standard Note examines the interaction between data protection with particular reference to the position of officials and the papers of a previous administration. | |
| 20.02.2006 | The Civil Service Code |
| This Note looks at the background to the drafting of the current Civil Service Code, which was first issued in May 1996 and gives the text of the new draft code published for consultation by the Cabinet Secretary and the First Civil Service Commissioner on 26 January 2006. | |
| 26.01.2006 | The Lyons and Gershon Reviews and variations in Civil Service conditions |
| Organisational changes to the Civil Service over the past thirty years have meant that the majority of civil servants now work in Departments and Executive Agencies in which the responsibility for pay and conditions are decided locally. Uniform pay structures and conditions of service have been significantly eroded. The Government have launched major reviews into the operation of the civil service and these include the Lyons and Gershon Reviews. | |
| 07.12.2005 | Public Service Agreements |
| This note offers a brief summary of the history and purpose of Public Service Agreements, introduced in 1998 as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. | |
| 05.07.2005 | The Privy Council |
| The Privy Council is an ancient and dignified institution of government, which has its origins in the earliest days of the monarchy. This standard note explains the origins of the Council and gives details of its functions and committees. | |
| 30.06.2005 | Civil Servants: Employment Rights |
| 19.01.2004 | Changes to Government communications machinery |
| This note sets out the changes made to the Government Information and Communications Service at No 10 following the interim Phillis Review, published in August 2003. |
All Research Papers
11 Documents
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 14.06.2011 | Public Bodies Bill [HL] |
| The Public Bodies [HL] Bill is largely enabling legislation. It would allow ministers, by order, to abolish, merge or transfer the functions of the public bodies listed in the appropriate schedules to the Act. It is the main legislative vehicle for taking forward the Government's review of public bodies, the results of which were published in October 2010. | |
| 15.06.2009 | The Departmental Select Committee System |
| On 25 June 1979 the House of Commons agreed to establish a new system of departmental select committees to scrutinise the expenditure, administration and policy of government departments. This paper briefly sets out the historical background to the departmental select committees system before charting their development over the last 30 years, considering evaluations made of the system and recent proposals for reform. | |
| 16.05.2008 | Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL] 2007-08 |
| Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill (HL) 2007-08. (Bill 103 of 2007-08). House of Commons Library Research Paper 08/46. | |
| 23.04.2008 | Parliamentary Involvement in Public Appointments |
| 09.03.2007 | The Statistics and Registration Service Bill, Committee Stage Report |
| The Statistics and Registration Service Bill, Committee Stage Report. House of Commons Library Research Paper 07/25 | |
| 21.12.2005 | The Centre of Government - No. 10, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury |
| 24.11.2004 | Freedom of Information implementation |
| Freedom of Information implementation. House of Commons Library Research Paper 04/84. | |
| 15.11.2004 | Collective Responsibility of Ministers |
| The collective responsibility of ministers - an outline of the issues. House of Commons Library Research Paper 04/82. | |
| 05.04.2004 | Individual ministerial responsibility-issues and examples |
| Individual ministerial responsibility - issues and examples. House of Commons Library Research Paper 04/31. | |
| 12.12.2000 | Shifting control? |
| Shifting control? Aspects of the executive-parliamentary relationship. House of Commons Library Research Paper 00/92. | |
| 05.04.2000 | Advisers to Ministers |
| Advisers to ministers. House of Commons Library Research Paper 00/42. |
