Rodney Lowe - The Official History of the British Civil Service: Reforming the Civil Service, Volume I: The Fulton Years, 1966-81

This first volume of the Official History of the UK Civil Service covers its evolution from the Northcote-Trevelyan Report of 1854 to the first years of Mrs Thatchers government in 1981.

Despite current concerns with good governance and policy delivery, little serious attention has been paid to the institution vital to both: the Civil Service. This Official History is designed to remedy this by placing present problems in historical context and by providing a helpful structure in which others, and particularly former officials, may contribute to the debate. Starting with the seminal 1854 Northcote-Trevelyan Report, it covers the lost opportunity of the 1940s when the Service failed to adapt to the needs of big government as advocated by Beveridge and Keynes. It then examines, in greater detail, the belated attempts at modernisation in the 1960s, the Services vilification in the 1970s and the final destruction of the old order during the first years of Mrs Thatchers government.

Particular light is shed on the origins of such current concerns as:

This Official History is based on extensive research into both recently released and unreleased papers as well as interviews with leading participants. It has important lessons to offer all those, both inside and outside the UK, seeking to improve the quality of democratic government.

This book will be of great interest to all students of British history, British government and politics, and of public administration in general.

Rodney Lowe is Emeritus Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bristol. He has published widely on comparative history, and especially on UK government and welfare policy.

The Government Official History series began in 1919 with wartime histories, and the peacetime series was inaugurated in 1966 by Harold Wilson. The aim of the series is to produce major histories in their own right, compiled by historians eminent in the field, who are afforded free access to all relevant material in the official archives. The Histories also provide a trusted secondary source for other historians and researchers while the official records are not in the public domain. The main criteria for selection of topics are that the histories should record important episodes or themes of British history while the official records can still be supplemented by the recollections of key players; and that they should be of general interest, and, preferably, involve the records of more than one government department.

The author has been given full access to official documents.
He alone is responsible for the statements made and
the views expressed.

First published 2011
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2011 Crown Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lowe, Rodney.
The official history of the British civil service : reforming the civil service/Rodney Lowe.
p. cm.
1. Civil service reformGreat BritainHistory.
2. Civil serviceGreat BritainHistory. I. Title.
JN428.L69 2011
351.4109dc22
2010032340

ISBN 0-203-83155-1 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN13: 978-0-415-58864-5 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-83155-7 (ebk)

This book has typically taken an unconscionable time to write; and in the course of writing ihave benefited enormously from much official and private help. Officially, ihave received consistent support from the Histories, Openness and Records Unit of the Cabinet Office (now recast and renamed the Knowledge and Information Management Unit) and, in particular, Tessa Stirling, Sally Falk and Chris Grindall; and from my Project Board and, in particular, Peter Hennessy who from the very start of the project has offered his own unique brand of support and encouragement. ihave also benefited greatly from a series of interviews with former officials. A full list appears in the appendix, but ishould particularly like to thank Ian Beesley, Sir John Herbecq, Sir John Hoskyns, Peter Jones, John Nethercote, Clive Priestley and John Rimmington for help way beyond the calls of duty. Finally, ishould like to thank for their help many record Officers and archivists, within and outside Government, and in particular the proactive at Churchill College Archive (Allen Packwood and Andrew Riley) and the longsuffering at the National Archives (Geof Baxter, Julie Ash, Gareth Owen and Marjory George). Long-suffering would also seem to be an apt epithet for Jo Anson who performed the remarkable feat of copy-editing the manuscript without losing her sense of humour at least permanently. Personally ishould also like to acknowledge the (sometimes unintentional) help of Geoffrey Fry, Margaret Jones, Michael Lee, Helen Leiser, Hugh Pemberton, Heather Grant and Jackie Hand as well as Alex, Gini, Billy and Mercury. Many may conclude that the results of the project are tragic. For me personally it certainly started with tragedy, with the death of my then partner, Rebecca. The book is dedicated to her memory.