bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The First Welsh Constitutional Crisis: The Alun Michael Resignation
Authors: Thomas Alys , Laffin Martin
Published: March 2007

In February 2000 Alun Michael, the First Secretary of the eight month old National Assembly for Wales resigned when faced with the likely success of a vote of no confidence against him. In the light of the controversial leadership election twelve months earlier these events were widely perceived as a snub to the Prime Minister himself who had championed Michael over his challenger, Rhodri Morgan. However, the aim of this paper is to argue that the ‘crisis’ of February 2000 tells us less about Number Ten and issues of ‘control freakery’ and more about the National Assembly's struggling to come of age. The crisis will be analysed as unfolding on three levels, revealing insights into the impact of devolution. Firstly, in constitutional design terms, the crisis centred around two different perspectives on how the Assembly should work: the corporate body model and the parliamentary model. Secondly, in political terms a new Welsh political dynamic revealed itself as AMs came to see themselves as a polity, whose principal role is to govern, not just implement or manage centrally devised policies. Thirdly, in terms of inter-governmental relations, the crisis illustrates the difficulties that the centre has in realising that it has to work with a new polity and not a devolved administration in Wales.
Accountability in Public Administration: A Multi-Perspective Framework of Analysis
Authors: McGarvey Neil
Published: March 2007

This article adopts a relativist philosophical stance reviewing alternative conceptualisations of ‘accountability in public administration’. It evaluates traditional, democratic, professional, managerialist, governance, regulatory and rational choice perspectives of accountability. By analysing each perspective we can see what each reveals (as well as neglects). By asking different questions and providing different answers each perspective has heuristic qualities that allow us to analyse in sufficient depth what ‘accountability in public administration’ amounts to. This analysis suggests that while accountability may be improving within and between public organisations (through managerial and regulatory codes) there remain question marks as regards accountability to the wider public.
Mandated ‘Joined-Up’ Working: A Pandora’. Box for Welfarist Organisations?
Authors: Barton Adrian , Quinn Christina
Published: March 2007

Just over a decade ago Hudson (1987) noted that inter-agency working was ‘in vogue’. Today is it a central feature of the work of all professionals, whatever sector they occupy. Indeed, recent government policy documents seem to promote closer ties between health and care agencies and those from the criminal justice system. However, despite joint working being part of the day-to-day activities of most professions it still presents a host of difficulties, often revolving around the standard operating procedures of sometimes-disparate organisations. In some instances, negotiation and compromise between and across agencies overcome difficulties. However, recent legislation, which mandates joint working between different sectors, aided by government departmental guidelines, seeks to ensure that welfare providers alter some long-standing approaches to working arrangements. This paper argues that health and care professionals should adopt a cautious approach to these moves and need to become more proactive in policy formation in order to establish boundaries and maintain their distinct professional identity.
The United States Federal Government and New Public Management: How Good a Fit?
Authors: Aberbach Joel D.
Published: March 2007

This article begins with an examination of the design of the United States governmental system – ‘separated institutions sharing powers’ – and the lack of attention that the framers of the American Constitution gave to the administrative arm of the state. Because of the separation of powers and the lack of attention given to the administrative arm, the bureaucracy that eventually developed in the USA has become contested ground. The article provides a brief introduction to the New Public Management, especially as it has been attempted in the USA, and the issues involved in applying the New Public Management in that country. General issues about New Public Management are raised, particularly about the problems of applying private sector solutions to pubic management. The article concludes that the design features that make the United States system resemble a market, and the unclear role of administration in the system, make it difficult to successfully apply many features of the New Public Management.
Devolution, Integration and Modernisation in the United Kingdom Civil Service
Authors: Parry Richard
Published: March 2007

The legislation creating the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales in 1999 specified that Scottish and Welsh officials would continue to be part of the Home Civil Service, and would not follow the model of the separate Northern Ireland Civil Service. This was justified by practical considerations about interchange of personnel and exchange of best practice, but also implies a celebration of the traditional narrative of the civil service in the British constitution. The practical effects of a unified service are felt most in the personnel management of senior officials, but they have also been extended by the UK Government’. policies on Modernising Government and civil service reform. The devolved administrations have embraced modernisation themes but, starting with Wales, there is some questioning of the way that civil service appointments are made. This is being expressed in the wider external advertising of posts which in time may lead to a horizontal leadership elite in the nations. The present position contains potential for conflict should a future devolved administration politically opposed to the UK Government start to push against the existing civil service statutes and rules.
The Early Impact of Devolution on Civil Service Accountability in Scotland
Authors: Kirkpatrick Iris , Pyper Robert
Published: March 2007

A brief exploration of the thematic links between ‘modernisation’, devolution and official accountability shows that, while ‘modernisation’ per se, in its ‘micro’ forms has had a mixed impact on civil service accountability, there was a general expectation that devolution, as a feature of the Blair Government’. modernisation programme at the ‘macro’, constitutional level, would enhance both political and official accountability. However, the documents which framed the Scottish devolution settlement had virtually nothing to say about the types and forms of accountability which would be introduced within the new order. It soon became clear that the post devolution arrangements would see a rather traditional range of parliamentary mechanisms and devices deployed within extant constitutional rules. It seemed likely that these would produce an increase in the volume and quantity of civil service accountability, at least in its most basic form. A comparison between the pre-devolution, Westminster regime of accountability for Scottish Office civil servants, and the immediate post-devolution, Holyrood regime of accountability confirms that there has been a significant increase in the volume of scrutiny of the civil service emanating from the key parliamentary mechanisms and devices since 1999. Of particular note has been the role of the new parliamentary committees in bringing civil servants to account. However, it remains to be seen whether this increased quantity and volume of accountability can, in time, be translated into enhanced quality of official accountability.
Elected Mayors in England: A Contribution to the Debate
Authors: Leach Steve , Norris Donald F.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the arguments for and against the introduction of elected mayors in England, as encouraged in the Local Government Act 2000. It analyses how the government’. mayoral proposals have been diluted in such a way that ‘strong mayors’ parallels from the USA are now less relevant. It examines the evolution effectiveness and extent of the current use of the mayoral office in the USA, and draws out the implications of this evidence for the way in which elected mayors are likely to operate in England (whilst recognising the problems of cross-national ‘policy transferability’.. The particular impact of party politics on the mayoral project in England is highlighted; it is argued that the highly personalised approach to the mayoral office which is apparent in the USA is unlikely to develop in England. It is concluded that although there is a plausible case for the introduction of elected mayors in England on a voluntary and experimental basis, the case for their widespread introduction in the immediate future cannot be sustained.
Public Procurement and Supply Management Strategies
Authors: Erridge Andrew , McIlroy John
Published: March 2007

This article develops several frameworks for the analysis of supply strategies employed for public sector contracts on the basis of a review of the literature on public procurement and supply management. Three approaches to public procurement are identified. Current UK government policy and European Union Directives emphasise the commercial and regulatory strands. However, there is a need to recognise the importance of the socio-economic strand of public procurement. A range of supply management strategies are then explored, which are distinguished by four criteria: map of the actors; information sharing; features of the relationship; and sharing of risks and rewards. The final section of the paper analyses a sample of contracts from Government Purchasing Agency (Northern Ireland) (GPA) and the then Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). Whilst the more commercially or regulatory oriented contracts are found to employ relatively simple, dyadic strategies involving open competitive tendering, more complex supply chain management or network strategies are found in relation to contracts where socio-economic goals are of primary importance.
Conceptualising Europeanisation
Authors: Buller Jim , Gamble Andrew
Published: March 2007

This article subjects the existing literature on the concept of Europeanisation to critical scrutiny. It begins by providing a general discussion of the methodology of concept formation. It then goes on to assess five current usages of the tern Europeanisation, before providing an alternative definition. The main argument pursued here is that academics have been too quick to conceptualise Europeanisation as a process which is capable of producing certain effects. Consequently, not enough time has been spent on the subject of what Europeanisation actually is (and, indeed, whether it exists). Unless scholars refocus their efforts towards the subject of Europeanisation, there is a danger of misrepresenting or reifying its supposed effects.
Conceptualising Europeanisation: Policy Networks and Cross-National Comparison
Authors: Adshead Maura
Published: March 2007

With the odd exception (Wallace, 2000), the term ‘Europeanisation’ has come to be used in reference to the impact of the European Union (EU) across member states (Bulmer and Burch, 1998). Assessing the nature of this impact is, however, extremely problematic. The EU does not present a single over-arching ‘European principle of organization’ that we might examine for evidence of its influence. Analysis of change within European states also runs into the problem of separating out ‘Europeanisation’ from other equally plausible variables. Finally, assuming that these difficulties can be overcome, there remains the methodological problem of how to compare the impact of the EU and/or Europeanisation in quite differently constituted national state forms. The point of this article is to try to elucidate a framework that avoids these problems. Taking the focus of analysis to the meso level, the policy networks approach is utilised to provide comparative characterizations of cross-national policy-making processes, supported by a theory of political integration to explain variation and change in alternative national policies arising as a consequence of Europeanisation. The article concludes by deploying a number of propositions from neofunctionalism in order to provide precise expectations about the effects of political integration on the institutional and political organisation of member states.
Varieties of Europeanisation and the National Regulatory State
Authors: Lodge Martin
Published: March 2007

The notions of ‘regulatory state’ and ‘Europeanisation’ have become increasingly current in recent years. This article analyses the extent to which the national regulatory state has been Europeanised, focusing in particular on network industry regulation in four European Union (EU) member states, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Sweden. It does so in three steps. First, four dimensions of Europeanisation are discussed, pointing to: different institutional constellations in which Europeanisation takes place, different Europeanisation ‘triggers’; institutional consequences of Europeanisation at the national level; and, finally, different dynamics of Europeanisation. Second, the article surveys regulatory reform in four EU member states, suggesting that national diversity remains prominent, whether in terms of organising network regulation, processes of reform or the utilisation of particular regulatory instruments to enhance transparency. Finally, the article considers the impact of the four dimensions of Europeanisation on the national regulatory state in network regulation. It suggests that, far from transforming national regulation, Europeanisation is associated with many different phenomena, allowing for continued national diversity and adding to existing policy cleavages.
The Impact of Europeanisation on Regional Governance: A Study of Catalonia and Scotland
Authors: Roller Elisa , Sloat Amanda
Published: March 2007

This article examines the role of political elites in the Europeanisation of regional governance, arguing that domestic conceptions of governance shape the way in which elites view their participation in European Union (EU) decision-making. It compares and contrasts the experiences of Scotland and Catalonia, two ‘regions’ that have recently obtained greater political autonomy. The article begins by examining how European integration encouraged the decentralisation of power, providing contextual information on the devolution process and the current status of domestic constitutional arrangements in the United Kingdom and Spain. It then examines how political elites are seeking greater participatory rights within the EU, evaluating the effectiveness of domestic and European channels of influence. Despite lacking formalised points of access to the EU policy process, the article argues that Catalan and Scottish elites have been successful in placing issues on the EU agenda and sustaining the debate on regional participation in EU decision-making. While the gradual formation of institutionalised channels of co-operation could lead to greater influence in the EU policy process over the long term, it would be more appropriate in the short-term to focus on the agenda-setting powers of regional elites.
Europeanisation of German Economic Policies: Testing the Limits of Model Germany
Authors: Dyson Kenneth
Published: March 2007

This article examines the complex effects - cognitive and material, direct and indirect - of the European Union on German economic policies, with particular reference to the government of Gerhard Schröder (1998-2002) and to Economic and Monetary Union. Particular attention is paid to the questions of institutional fit and misfit, of changing domestic opportunity structures, and of whether Europeanisation has been important in reshaping domestic preferences or in altering the context of domestic action. The changing context of domestic action raises in turn the question of whether Europeanisation is displacing the German model of ‘managed’ capitalism. Two variables are identified as central in answering this question: the nature of domestic governing style and the extent of commitment to ‘negotiation’ democracy over majoritarian democracy and the continuing loyalty of German firms to this model.
Evidence Based Policy Making: The View From A Centre
Authors: Wyatt Andrew
Published: March 2007

This article discusses recent developments in thinking about what constitutes good policy making, and in particular the role of ‘evidence’ in that activity. Recognising the current emphasis on evidence based policy-making, it seeks first to trace the sources in both academic and official publications of this term, and to establish how it has come to be used as if it denoted a definable method or body of professional practice. Modemising Government, which stresses the needfor improvement in the processes of policy making and the role that should be played by evidence in them, is an important starting point. The article discusses both the antecedents of this concern, and the ways in which it has been elaborated in a range of subsequent reports. Secondly, it attempts to establish what the rise to prominence of this terminology has meant in practice for officials. The need for better use of evidence, information, research and analysis of all kinds in the development and implementation of policy is widely understood. That there remains a range of views about what legitimately constitutes evidence in this context need not stand in the way of practical improvements in the ways in which policy advisers approach their task.
Evidence Based or People Based Policy Making?: A View From Wales
Authors: Quinn Matthew
Published: March 2007

This paper draws on the initial experience of the Welsh Assembly Government's approach to policy-making to draw out some of the potential tensions between policy based on a participative model and evidence-based policy-making. The overall outcome in Wales has been twin-track, focusing on core values and wider involvement in policy while at the same time strengthening technical policy capacity. The paper views evidence as a broad church in which professional expertise informs a process of wider engagement. It concludes by considering the effectiveness of some of the individual initiatives in Wales and suggesting possible ways ahead.
Evidence-Based Policy and Management in Practice: Education in England, 1980s to 2002
Authors: Fitz-Gibbon Carol Taylor
Published: March 2007

Education is a powerful intervention in the lives of children and their parents. As such it could probably contribute significantly to efforts to improve society. To do so there would need to be agreement regarding: what sort of society we seek to create (values); knowledge about what is happening and where there are problems (cf epidemiology in medicine); and evidence-based policies to address the problems and discover ‘what works’ (cf clinical trials in medicine). The failure of politicians to adopt evidence - based approaches is seen as a problem but so also is a culture in academia that is anti-scientific. Schools, in contrast, have adopted rigorous and comprehensive monitoring systems over the last 20 years and are increasingly participating in experiments and careful evaluation. Questions are raised about proper roles of regulatory agencies.
Partnership, Value for Money and Best Value in PFI Projects: Obstacles and Opportunities
Authors: Asenova Darinka , Beck Matthias , Akintoye Akintola , Hardcastle Cliff , Chinyio Ezekiel
Published: March 2007

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Best Value policies were introduced by the UK government as part of a drive to improve public service provision. Both Best Value and PFI focus on harmonising the interaction between the public and private sectors in the context of public private partnerships. Based on 68 interviews with representatives of the main stakeholder groups involved in PFI procurement and development in Great Britain, this paper analyses practitioner views on the problems encountered in implementing these schemes. In this context, it is noted that there is considerable disagreement with regard to the sources of, and solutions for, current difficulties. Amongst public sector respondents, there is a view that PFI procurement has to be standardised further in order to become more cost effective, and to allow for easier manageability. Private sector respondents, meanwhile, emphasise the need for clients to adopt a commercial ethos and to acquire a greater degree of expertise with regard to managing market-based solutions. Both views are indicative of an ongoing uncertainty amongst PFI stakeholders with regard to the levels of risk identification and management that are required for the successful implementation of PFI projects.
Social Capital and the Participation of Marginalized Groups in Government: A Study of the Statutory Partnership Between the Third Sector and Devolved Government in Wales
Authors: Chaney Paul
Published: March 2007

This paper outlines the initial impact that recent constitutional reform has had in reframing governance and changing the role of the third sector in Wales. In the wake of devolution it shows a civil society in transition. It examines two democratic innovations; a new and singular statutory partnership between national Welsh government and the voluntary sector, and a unique legal duty requiring that government promote equality of opportunity for all people in the exercise of its functions. Here the emerging findings of research into the prevailing levels and types of social capital are outlined as part of an evaluation of the way such reforms are being used further the political aim for a more broad-based, participatory system of governance. Attention is focussed on measures designed to engage in the work of government hitherto marginalized social groups such as women, disabled people and people from an ethnic minority background. The nature and working practices associated with new structural and procedural arrangements that include government-sponsored consultative third sector networks for ‘minority’ groups are explored. The emerging evidence presented here suggests that whilst reframing governance and state intervention may have the potential to foster top-down social capital in ways that promote activism and political participation, significant barriers remain to achieving ‘inclusive’ governance.
Executives and Scrutiny in Local Government: An Evaluation of Progress
Authors: Leach Steve
Published: March 2007

New ‘executive’ political management structures (elected mayors, cabinets and leader etc) have been operating since May 2001 throughout England. This paper attempts a preliminary assessment of the experience and impact of these new structures, including the extent to which they are meeting the government's objectives. Interim conclusions include the perception that the new executives have speeded up the process of decision-making, but that overview and scrutiny remains problematical, with most authorities struggling to establish an influential role for it. There are also problems regarding the role of council meetings and the operation of the forward plan/key decisions mechanism. There is a discernable pattern in the strategic responses of local authorities to the requirements of the Local Government Act 2000. Three ideal-typical responses are identified and discussed; executive dominance, opposition incorporation and executive marginalisation. It is concluded that the extent to which the government's objectives in introducing the new system have been met is limited. The potential of local executive government to provide a more democratically viable system than the one it has replaced remains considerable. But that potential is currently being realised only on a limited and sporadic basis.
Surveying the Landscape of Modernisation: Executive Agencies Under New Labour
Authors: Gains Francesca
Published: March 2007

A recent review of executive agencies argued there must be a ‘new revolution’ galvanizing the agency model for the 21st century. It identifies contemporary concerns around agencies' role in delivering government goals and their accountability. Originally in 1988 the ‘Next Steps’ agency model was developed precisely to tackle shortcomings in the delivery of central government functions and to extend existing accountability arrangements based on ministerial responsibility. This article examines the contrasting narratives of modernization through agencification under the Conservatives and New Labour, identifying change in the agency story and reflecting on the trajectory of change. It argues that ideas about delivery have altered radically, reflecting New Labour's understanding of the role of the state. There has also been a gradual reassertion of the primacy of ministerial responsibility in the organization of accountability arrangements, reflecting path dependency in the institutional arrangements. In concluding, the future of agencies under New Labour is discussed.
The Coordination of e-Government in Historical Context
Authors: Organ Joe
Published: March 2007

The paper traces the history of IT coordination in government, from the early 1950s to the current e-government environment. Particular attention will be paid to the organizations that have been charged with coordination over the decades, and how they differed in terms of approach and success. It is argued that IT coordination from the centre has largely been ineffective, and protagonists have consistently been uncertain as to what should be done with government IT. This uncertainty and inadequacy has continued into the e-government era, and some of the efforts of the Office of the e-Envoy in particular seem misplaced and overambitious. The paper concludes that central government should remedy the fundamentals of departmental IT project management before wide-ranging joined up' e-government schemes can be attempted.
E-Government and e-Governance: Organisational Implications, Options and Dilemmas
Authors: Bovaird Tony
Published: March 2007

This article suggests that e-government and e-governance initiatives can potentially have major organisational impacts through three major mechanisms: improved decision-making, more intensive and productive use of data bases, and better communications. These mechanisms impact on both the internal organisation of public agencies, their configuration of networks and partnerships. E-enablement therefore makes obsolete many existing organisational structures and processes and offers the prospect of transformation in both service delivery and public governance arrangements. However, the organisational changes which can be effected through the e-revolution are only just beginning to become evident. While it seems likely that existing organisational configurations in the public sector will not be sustainable, the most appropriate ways forward will only be uncovered through much experimentation within e-government and e-governance programmes. In the nature of experimentation, many of these initiatives will turn out to be unproductive or cost-ineffective - but that is perhaps the necessary price to pay for the level of public sector transformation which now appears to be in prospect.
The Governance of Museums: a Study of Admission Charges Policy in the UK
Authors: Falconer Peter K. , Blair Sharon
Published: March 2007

In December 2001, the ‘New Labour’ Government completed an incremental policy shift across the devolved polity of the UK that saw a significant increase in public investment committed to national museums and galleries in return for the provision of free access to their general collections. In response to this financial incentive, the vast majority of national museums and galleries that levied charges for general admission acted to remove these charges. The removal of general admission charges had been an important Labour Party policy commitment in Opposition, and senior Labour politicians pointed to the 2001 removal of charges as a major achievement in relation to the Labour Government's public policy agenda. This article examines the Labour Government's 2001 policy drive toward the removal of general admission charges at the national museums and galleries, and reports on research conducted during 2002 into the early implementation of this public policy shift.
Developing Self and Other Recognition: Political Identity in the National Assembly for Wales
Authors: Howell Kerry E.
Published: March 2007

This article involves a study of political identity in the National Assembly for Wales (NAW). Identity is closely linked with concepts of self in an objective and subjective context and takes a Hegelian idea of recognition in relation to the political identity of the NAW. Identity is explored from both self and other recognition perspectives in relation to the extent the NAW looks beyond the United Kingdom (UK) and concentrates on the European Union (EU) in terms of its identity formulation. For instance, how far is identity recognition in the NAW seen as an EU rather than UK concern? This paper takes into consideration the difficulties regarding a single identity and discusses these in relation to the NAW and Wales in general. This study provides some insight into the changes that devolution brought about and allows a practical and theoretical perspective of the development of Welsh political identity in the NAW.
Regional Governance: Some Unresolved Issues
Authors: Diamond John , Liddle Joyce
Published: March 2007

Since 1997 the New Labour Government have introduced a number of significant (and potentially far reaching) reforms to the governance of Britain. They include the creation of a parliament in Scotland, assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland, an elected mayor and assembly in Greater London and development agencies and assemblies in the English regions. At the same time reforms to the structure and decision-making at local authority level have been introduced. The changes to local government decision making with the option of directly elected mayors or cabinet style leadership have, to some extent, been overshadowed by the formation of Local Strategic Partnerships. The Government has announced its intention to legislate for referenda on the creation of directly elected regional assemblies. This article reflects upon the unresolved issues, which this latest proposal highlights. In particular, it examines the extent to which directly elected assemblies have the potential to redress the democratic deficit at local and regional levels. It suggests that the model on offer cannot be imposed without a significant renegotiation of the political, economic, organisational and social settlement at the local level. A regional level of decision-making leaves unanswered the complexities of arrangements at the local and sub-regional levels. The article draws upon the experience of the North East and North West where competing city regions and the needs of rural areas may conflict with the concept of a known and recognised region.
The Joint Future Initiative in Scotland: The Development and Early Implementation Experience of an Integrated Care Policy
Authors: Mctavish Duncan , Mackie Robert
Published: March 2007

The focus of this article is an examination of the policy and early implementation of an integrated community care initiative targeted at older people. The research examined four geographical areas. The policy prescriptions behind integrated care were viewed in historical context. Two key aspects of current policy, the drive from central government and the focus on users and outcomes, were analysed in terms of first, the purpose and design behind the initiative, and second the early implementation experience. The policy purposes of collaborative partnering and user focus were clearly observed. However, the early implementation experience, while showing that partnership structures were in place, indicated differing levels of authority and responsibility from health and local authority managers causing some frustration for local partnership management. The research showed that in practice the extent of user-outcome focus was limited. Users and clients were involved in agreeing to the design of their care package as demanded by legislation, yet there was little evidence of a broader collective, participative dimension. There was some devolution of financial authority to managers at the client interface level and this marked a clear difference from earlier practice, but the approach to this was patchy with some of the areas studied completely separating assessment and authorization of care processes. The focus on local outcome – effectiveness – measures to calibrate achievement was less well developed, giving support to those who regard as unlikely the comprehensive adoption of such approaches in the public spending arena. The article concludes by outlining the significance of the Joint Future initiative for policy development as well as indicating a research agenda for some wider debates in public policy and management.
Learning About Oneself from the Public Records: Editing the Report of a Research Project for the Fulton Committee
Authors: Chapman Richard A.
Published: March 2007

This article combines an academic study of official documents, only recently available, with the recollections and reflections of a key player in the subject studied. It therefore has a rare (perhaps unique?) approach. It reveals details of civil service attitudes towards research in the social sciences at the time of the Fulton Committee on the Civil Service (1966-68) – important for understanding British public administration not only in the 1960s but also up to the present time. It also raises significant questions about the role(s) of advisers to committees and commissions and, in particular, the work of secretaries to such bodies.
Richard Crossman
Authors: Theakston Kevin
Published: March 2007

Richard Crossman's Diaries of a Cabinet Minister (published in three volumes, 1975-77) give a detailed and vivid account of the life of a Cabinet minister and the inner workings of the Whitehall machine and of Harold Wilson's Labour government in the 1960s - coloured, however, by Crossman's own strong personality and opinions. Controversially blowing away conventions of Cabinet secrecy, the diaries paved the way for later moves towards more openness about the process of government. The article shows how the evidence of the diaries served to undermine the simplistic notions of ‘prime ministerial government’ propagated by Crossman and others. Crossman's ambition to write ‘a new Bagehot’ - a classic, landmark and defining book about the British political system - was never fulfilled. Ultimately, Crossman's legacy is that of a gadfly critic and a maverick insider, not a major constitutional thinker.
Echoes of Administrative History: Three Cadences
Authors: Barberis Peter
Published: March 2007

Works by Samuel Finer, Oliver MacDonagh and Maurice Wright illustrate different dimensions of influence in the genre of administrative history. In chronicling the deeds of Sir Edwin Chadwick, a high profile nineteenth century civil servant, Finer demonstrated the purchase of (Benthamite) ideas upon the role and organization of government. No less so he set new standards in administrative biography, mobilising a wide range of primary and secondary sources. Oliver MacDonagh's contribution to administrative history was not so much a body of empirical material as an explanatory tool. Whatever its weaknesses, his model of government growth stoked controversy, providing a foil for his critics as well as inspiration for his advocates. The simple elegance of his model as an ‘ideal type’ gave it an extensive applicability beyond the period for which it was developed. Maurice Wright's work on the mid-nineteenth century Treasury was more in the Finer mould, setting new standards for the study of public agencies, based as it was upon a careful sifting of archive sources. Thus he successfully challenged previously held assumptions about the ability of the Treasury to control an important area of public expenditure. No serious scholar ever again took Treasury power at face value.
New Choices for England' Sub-National Government: Community, Identity and Efficiency Revisited
Authors: Barnett Neil , Leach Robert
Published: March 2007

Referendums in three northern regions may not only decide the future of English regional devolution, but also radically alter the structure of English local government. Unitary local authorities may ultimately be introduced everywhere after decades of abortive reforms, not because of their perceived advantages, but as the casual by-product of regional devolution, and fears that England might otherwise appear over-governed. This article reviews the shifts in the terms of debate over the structure of English sub-national government. Although much of the debate orchestrated by the Government and the Boundary Committee is still being ostensibly conducted in familiar terms there has been a clear shift away from the ‘affective community’ which influenced reorganisations from the 1970s through to the 1990s, back towards notions of ‘effective community’, based on patterns of life and work. Yet while shifting interpretations of community and efficiency may shape the options presented to voters, ultimately their constrained choice is likely to be made on the basis of felt identities and allegiances - affective community. Voters may prefer unitary counties to unfamiliar merged districts, an unintended consequence of the long debate over the structure of English sub-national government which scarcely anyone has advocated or predicted.
The Civil Service and Intergovernmental Relations
Authors: Parry Richard
Published: March 2007

The civil service is potentially one of the factors facilitating good intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom, as either the ‘glue’ holding together administrations, or the ‘oil’ lubricating their working contacts. Its role is influenced by two contrasting models: ’interdepartmental’ and ‘diplomatic’ which in turn derive from a continuum of proximity between officials ranging from working for the same department to working for a foreign government with no special ties. UK devolution has tried to preserve the interdepartmental approach, generally with success because of a past history of interaction and the small scale of the devolved institutions. The formal ‘diplomatic’ mechanisms set in place have not been used, and the unified nature of the Home Civil Service is under little challenge. The continued success of this approach is not guaranteed, especially because the civil service role in the devolved administrations is tending to merge into the wider public service. A system based on goodwill, personal contact and a reluctance to resolve issues through open structures is working now but may face sociological and political challenges, especially if English regional government requires a more systematic approach to policy divergence and resource allocation within the UK.
The Kinnock Reforms in Perspective: Why Reforming the Commission is an Heroic, But Thankless, Task
Authors: Kassim Hussein
Published: March 2007

The European Commission is a latecomer to administrative reform. Virtually alone among public administrations, it was untouched by the tide of management reforms that were a feature of the 1980s and early 1990s. Although modest attempts at modernisation were undertaken by the Santer Commission, these were limited, fragmentary and partially successful at best (Pollitt and Bourkaert, 2000; Stevens and Stevens, 2001). Since 1999, however, the Commission has adopted a far-reaching reform programme that, in relation to that body's size, tasks and responsibilities, is more comprehensive and radical than that undertaken by any other administration (Kassim, 2004).

This article puts the reform programme implemented under the Prodi Commission into historical perspective. It argues, first, that only by approaching the Commission as an international organisation is it possible to explain both why reform failed to feature on its agenda for so long (see Siotis, 1965; Michelmann 1978; Claude 1971), and why the situation changed in 1999. It contends, second, that, though externally imposed and with elements prescribed by an outside body, the reform represents a significant achievement on the part of the Commission and, in particular, the reform Vice President, Neil Kinnock. The feat is all the more remarkable given the complexity of the EU's institutional environment and the short timescale within which the reform package was formulated and adopted. The article identifies problems, actual and potential, that may affect the ultimate success of the reform - a third aim. Finally, it contends that, in contrast to administrative reform at the national level (see Pollitt and Bourkeaert, 2000, p.6), there is little political capital to be made from Commission reform.

The article is organised into four sections. The first discusses the non-occurrence of Commission reform for four decades after 1958. The second looks at the circumstances that brought about the Kinnock reforms, outlining the part played by the European Parliament and the European Council. The third examines the content of the reform programme and the nature of the reform strategy devised by the reform Vice President, focusing on how Kinnock sought to assert ownership over the reform, while at the same time using the opportunity to implement a full-scale modernisation programme. Potential difficulties are highlighted in the fourth.
The Reform of the European Commission: An Ethical Perspective
Authors: Cini Michelle
Published: March 2007

This article examines how the Commission has approached the subject of organisational ethics as part of its post-1999 administrative reform. It begins by explaining the relationship between the Commission resignation and the reform that followed. It then reviews some of the relevant ethics literature, identifying a useful conceptual framework on reform and ethics. The third section introduces the reform proper, arguing that it is loosely in line with new public management thinking. The fourth section then identifies the ethical dimension of the reform package presented during the Prodi Commission, with the aim of explaining the Commission approach. The article concludes that the Commission has taken an eclectic approach to ethics, so that while the Commission's approach to ethics is very much in line with new public management ideas, it has been supplemented by compliance-based ethics management, albeit of a modest kind. This approach, it is argued, may have a detrimental impact on organisational ethics within the Commission, though the author accepts that is too early to pass judgement on this final point.
Constructing Accountability: Network Governance and Managerial Agency
Authors: Newman Janet
Published: March 2007

This article explores accountability as a socially constructed and contested concept. The increasing significance of network governance, in which responsibility for policy making and delivery is shared across organisational boundaries, renders traditional concepts of accountability problematic. New regulatory mechanisms are being introduced in an attempt to hold actors to account; but at the same time, the article argues, it is important to trace how actors themselves are constructing and reworking practical concepts of accountability to guide their everyday decision-making. The article draws on data from group discussions and interviews with public service managers in the UK to explore constructions of accountability in the ambiguous terrain of network governance, and highlights some of the fault lines emerging across this complex field of power.
Strategic Improvement or Service Measures? Best Value in UK Local Government
Authors: McAdam Rodney , Maguire Mairead
Published: March 2007

In 1997 Best Value was introduced as part of the UK government's policy to modernise local government. The Local Government Act 1999, more commonly known as “Best Value”, subsequently came into effect on 1 April 2000. Since then, there have been a number of studies on the effectiveness of Best Value at service delivery level. However, there is a paucity of research studies, which investigate the strategic impact of Best Value in local government organisations. The aim of this article is to examine the introduction of Best Value at a strategic level by using a case organisation analysis. The research reveals that the strategic approach taken to the Best Value planning process contributed to an improvement in services. Moreover, the strategic approach led to more consistent action, enabling customers and other stakeholders of the case organisation to experience the longitudinal benefits of Best Value. Thus, the need for over-reliance on service delivery to demonstrate value was reduced.
Explaining Public Service Performance: Does Management Matter?
Authors: Boyne George A.
Published: March 2007

Research in the broad field of public administration has paid insufficient attention to public service performance. Moreover, the impact of public management variables on performance has not been extensively theorised or tested. A framework for assessing the impact of public management strategies or organizational performance is presented, and the fragments of empirical evidence on this topic are identified and synthesised. The existing evidence suggests that management does matter, and that further research in this area would have theoretical and practical benefits.
‘Tears Before Bedtime’ A Look Back At The Constitutional Reform Programme Since 1997
Authors: MacKenzie Kenneth
Published: March 2007

Within a year of the Blair Government taking office, Bagehot in The Economist (1998) was accusing them of presiding over ‘a frenzy of constitutional reform” which needed “to be underpinned by some unifying political vision’. This article describes how that situation came about; and surveys briefly how the constitutional reform programme has developed in the meantime. It concludes that the Government still shows little appetite for contemplating or presenting constitutional change in the round and finds some of the consequences of its own reforms to be a source of embarrassment or frustration. Nevertheless they have transformed the landscape of governance beyond recognition and in some aspects, irrevocably and their achievements in this area seem likely to be a significant part of their monument as an administration.
RETRACTED: Postmodern Public Administration Theory: From Simon to the Present and Back Again?
Authors: Papadoulis Konstantinos J.
Published: March 2007

This article examines postmodern reasoning in academic Public Administration (PA). It claims that the arguments that abound in postmodern public administration present a fallacy. They conflate administrative practice and/or wrongs of bureaucracy and their study by social science. In effect, postmodernists confuse social engineering and social science (or rational inquiry) and then they appeal to relativism in order to explain this conflation. This article opposes them and argues that the main objection that postmodern academics have against modern science and administration has nothing to do with positivism or modern science and cannot be cured with relativism. It also disputes the related claim, common in postmodern public administration studies, that interpretative social science marginalizes social groups, because has no place for the ‘native’. point of view’ since it acknowledges only empirical evidence. It also argues that interpretative social science and rational inquiry are not at all mutually exclusive. Herbert Simon’. heritage makes public administration theory particularly well suited to show that we do not need relativism to reckon with the ‘natives’ point of view’ or, cruder, the self-interest and/or selfishness of social strata.