Issues and Questions Paper
Good Government
The Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) is undertaking an inquiry into
good government. Good government, in this context, means how effective
government is at making and implementing policies, and seeing them delivered
successfully. It is also concerned with how well departments are able to oversee the
smooth running of the continuing operations of government. Over the years, PASC
has examined a wide range of issues in this general area. This inquiry seeks to draw
on the experience and knowledge gained from our previous work to identify what
good government is and what is needed in order to bring it about.
This paper briefly sets out some of the issues and questions we are likely to cover in
our inquiry. We would welcome responses to any of the questions raised.
Background
Although the topic of good government is potentially very wide, PASC has looked at
many of the issues involved in the past. This inquiry will therefore take stock of what
we have learned in identifying what is needed to create the right conditions for good
government. Some of the relevant issues that PASC has explored in its previous work
include:
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The skills and capacities of the civil service, including departmental capability
reviews (Skills for Government; Civil Service Effectiveness);1
Relations between the centre of government and departments (Politics and
Administration: Ministers and Civil Servants; the Committee’s work on the
centre of government and the ‘new centre’);2
Safeguards for ensuring high standards of ethical conduct in government
(Ethics and Standards);3
The use of performance targets and other measures of governmental
effectiveness (On Target? Government by Measurement);4
Citizen and service user involvement in policy and service delivery (User
Involvement in Public Services; Choice, Voice and Public Services; Public
Participation: Issues and Innovations);5
1
Public Administration Select Committee, Ninth Report of Session 2006–07, Skills for Government,
HC 93–I; Oral and written evidence of the Public Administration Select Committee, Session 2004–05,
Civil Service Effectiveness, HC 307
2
Public Administration Select Committee, Third Report of Session 2006–07, Politics and
Administration: Ministers and Civil Servants, HC 122–I; on the Committee’s work on the centre of
government, see, for example, oral evidence taken before the Public Administration Select Committee
on 19 July 2007, Session 2006–07, HC 958–i
3
Public Administration Select Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2006–07, Ethics and Standards:
The Regulation of Conduct in Public Life, HC 121–I
4
Public Administration Select Committee, Fifth Report of Session 2002–03, On Target? Government
by Measurement, HC 62–I
5
Public Administration Select Committee, Sixth Report of Session 2007–08, User Involvement in
Public Services, HC 410; Public Administration Select Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2004–05,
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Feedback mechanisms for improving how government operates (When
Citizens Complain; oversight of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s work);6 and
The values and principles underpinning public service (The Public Service
Ethos).7
PASC is, of course, not the only body to have looked at these sorts of issues. Hence,
the inquiry will seek to identify the lessons for good government from the work of
organisations such as the National Audit Office and the Office of the Parliamentary
Ombudsman—as well as the insights of others with experience of striving for good
government (such as the proposals recently set out by the Better Government
Initiative to improve the way in which government operates).8
Ensuring the right conditions for good government
In this inquiry, we will seek to identify the internal and external conditions that foster
good government. These might, for instance, include the following:
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The relationships between the centre of government, individual departments,
frontline public sector workers, and citizens or service users;
Whether the right incentives are in place to encourage frontline workers to
deliver services or implement policy effectively;
The best means for ensuring that high standards of ethical conduct in
government are met and maintained;
The effect that policy and law making processes have on policy
implementation;
How well departments and frontline workers are able to respond to a
frequently changing policy environment, including new policy initiatives and
structural reorganisations; and
The effectiveness of mechanisms for assessing and improving government
performance.
We are particularly interested in the conditions for policy success—the positive
factors that are necessary for good government. Clearly, there are lessons to be
learned from policy or administrative failure. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has, for
instance, set out several Principles of Good Administration derived from her
considerable experience of dealing with complaints about government
administration.9 We are also interested, however, in what can be learned from
situations where government gets it right.
Choice, Voice and Public Services, HC 49–I; Public Administration Select Committee, Sixth Report of
Session 2000–01, Public Participation: Issues and Innovations, HC 373–I
6
Public Administration Select Committee, Fifth Report of Session 2007–08, When Citizens Complain,
HC 409; for an example of the Committee’s oversight of the Ombudsman’s work, see oral evidence
taken before the Public Administration Select Committee on 18 October 2007, Session 2006–07, HC
1086–i
7
Public Administration Select Committee, Seventh Report of Session 2001–02, The Public Service
Ethos, HC 263–I
8
Better Government Initiative, Governing Well, January 2008; see also oral evidence taken before the
Public Administration Select Committee on 19 March 2008, Session 2007–08, HC 431–i
9
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Principles of Good Administration, March 2007
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Questions
1.
What does good government look like, and what are its necessary
conditions?
2.
Are relations between the centre of government, individual departments and
frontline public sector workers organised so that each part of government
can do its work effectively? Is there the right balance of powers, operational
responsibilities and accountability structures?
3.
What is the best way of ensuring high standards of ethical conduct among
civil servants and public servants? How can high standards of conduct be
properly enforced?
4.
Do the right incentives exist for public sector workers to deliver policies
effectively? For instance, what could complement (or replace) targets for
policy and service delivery?
5.
Would changing the way in which policy or legislation is made increase the
likelihood of successful policy delivery? How well does knowledge from
policy implementation feed into policy or law making?
6.
Is effective policy implementation hampered by too much change—whether
in the form of constant new initiatives, or wider structural reorganisations?
How does this affect public sector workers’ ability to deliver policies?
7.
How adequate are existing mechanisms for judging government
performance, such as departmental capability reviews and public service
agreement targets?
8.
When weak performance in government is identified, are the right things
being done to correct it? If not, what should be done about poor
performance?
9.
What can we learn about good government from instances where
government gets it right?
How to respond to this paper
PASC would appreciate receiving responses to any or all of the questions in this
paper. Although some of the questions could be answered by a simple yes or no, it
would be valuable to have fuller responses in order for us to understand the points
being made. Some respondents may wish to concentrate on those issues in which they
have a special interest, rather than answering all of the questions. Respondents may
also wish to suggest any proposed recommendations for action by the Government or
others.
Written responses to this issues and questions paper will usually be treated as
evidence to the Committee and may be published as part of a final report. If you
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object to your response being made public in a volume of evidence, please make
this clear when it is submitted.
Responses should be submitted by Tuesday, 1st July 2008 by email to
pubadmincom@parliament.uk in Microsoft Word or rich text format. If you do not
have access to email, you may send a paper copy of your response to the Clerk of the
Public Administration Select Committee, Committee Office, First Floor, 7 Millbank,
London SW1P 3JA.
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