Commissioners welcome Constitutional Renewal White Paper

The Civil Service Commissioners welcome the publication of the White Paper ‘The Governance of Britain –Constitutional Renewal’ and the Constitutional Renewal Bill.

Part Five of the Draft Bill concerns the Civil Service and proposes that there should be a Civil Service Commission comprising the Civil Service Commissioners and their staff. The Bill places on a statutory footing the principle that recruitment to the Civil Service must be on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and gives the Civil Service Commission important functions to ensure that recruitment into the Civil Service is in accordance with this principle. The Bill also requires the Commission to hear appeals under the Civil Service Code, if brought in line with the Commission’s procedures.

The Commissioners have argued for some time that it is right that the core values of the Civil Service and the principle of recruitment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition should be placed on a statutory footing. They look forward to participating in the process of consideration and comment on the White Paper and Bill.