THE FULTON COMMITTEE AND THE'PREFERENCE FOR RELEVANCE ISSUE

Early access to the papers of the Fulton committee of 1966-8, and to the still unpublished oral evidence that the committee received, which has been officially granted to the author, enables the issue of 'preferences for relevance' in the directentry recruitment of administrators, which divided the committee, to be studied fully for the first time. This study is complemented by interviews with the surviving members of the committee and with members of its secretariat. It demonstrates that the evidence and the debate about 'preference for relevance' had a different balance from that which the previously published material suggested. The bulk of the evidence was anti-pathetic to 'preference for relevance' with many ministers being among the conservatives. The majority of the committee was radical but a substantial minority favoured 'traditional' arraqgements with professionalized post-entry training. Ironically, what eventually emerged was traditionalism without substantial training which nobody on the committee, and only a small number of those giving evidence, favoured.     

Effects of representative bureaucracy on perceived performance and fairness: Experimental evidence from South Asia

This study explores the relationship between gender representation in bureaucracy and perceived performance and fairness. It uses data from a survey experiment that was part of a national representative survey conducted in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In the experiment, respondents were informed about a hypothetical 10-member committee responsible for controlling violence against women and that it processes around 150 cases per year. The committee composition was then manipulated based on gender representation to capture whether women's representation in the committee mattered for respondents' evaluation of its performance and fairness. The study finds that in a “no representation” scenario, respondents reported the lowest perceived performance and fairness, while in scenarios such as “equal representation” or “over representation” of women, they reported higher perceived performance and fairness. Furthermore, variations in perceived performance are found to be associated with changing expectations of fair treatment generated by the different representations of women.     

Job evaluation committees as small groups: implications of group dynamics for fairness in pay

This paper reviews the nature of group processes, and the implications that such group dynamics have for the setting of pay in organizational settings. Job evaluation committees, widely used in the setting of salary structures, are described as small groups. In particular, the nature of group tasks as related to job evaluation is discussed, the nature of intrapersonal dynamics within the job evaluation committee is reviewed, the implications of the composition of the job evaluation committee are considered, and the broader organizational context of job evaluation is noted. Finally, implications for the practice of job evaluation are discussed.     

Between cheap talk and epistocracy: The logic of interest group access in the European Parliament's committee hearings

Improving policy deliberation is a central objective for the European Union's institutions. Focusing on the European Parliament's committee hearings as an understudied area of European governance, we aim to understand their role, and their capacity to improve its procedural legitimacy. Building on theoretical work on interest group access and deliberation we argue that hearings can serve three purposes: (i) coordinative; (ii) epistemic; (iii) enhancing public participation. We construct a set of measures and assess an entire population of participants in hearings (2009–14), concentrating on three committees. Our analyses show that hearings serve a hybrid purpose between coordinative and epistemic. At the top end, we observe a core group of gatekeepers representing the dominant constituencies. Simultaneously, research organizations are granted unique access as experts that de‐politicize debates. Theoretically, we contribute to discussions on interest group access while providing an innovative set of tools for its measurement, and the first dataset of its kind.     

CHANGE IN THE CIVIL SERVICE: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECTS

The type of civil service modelled on the principles of the Victorian reformers survived virtually unscathed into the post-1945 era of the welfare state and managed economy. Criticism of its qualities and performance resulted in a programme of changes associated principally with the Fulton Report (1968). This initial reform phase identified a shift to more active management of personnel, resources and policies as the primary need, but its practical effects were muted by optimistic assumptions relating to the rate of economic growth and the benefits to be derived from continued extension of governmental responsibilities. Since 1979 the context of civil service reform has changed, imposing much stronger pressure in favour of a managerialist view of civil service functions, of a career in the civil service, and of the ethos of the profession. Despite ambiguities of purpose and constraints within the political system the course of change is likely to continue in the direction, pointing towards a civil service substantially different at the end of the century from that which has been familiar in British thinking about the character and status of officials.     

Are School Committees a Source of Empowerment? Insights from Tanzania

Studies on user committees often critique the claim that membership to these committees empowers people. In this article, we use survey data on empowerment school committees in Tanzania to find out whether school committee membership is a source of empowerment of people at the local levels. Our findings suggest that membership in itself has limited impact on empowerment, while access to information and gender are the major sources of empowerment. However, the role of membership to the school committee is significant insofar as it can expose members to critical information on school issues.     

It Is a G‐Zero,Not a G‐20, World

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

Toward a Global Convergence of Interests

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

The Middle Income Transition in China and America's Need for Structural Change

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

Where the G‐20 Stands

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

How to Get America Back on Track

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

The American University in Bulgaria and U.S. Agency for International Development Relationship

Abstract

Upon recognizing a need for a center of western oriented university education, an initiative committee including representatives from the Republic of Bulgaria, the city of Blagoevgrad, and the University of Maine obtained support from philanthropist George Soros's Open Society Institute and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to start a university in Bulgaria in 1991. The hallmark of its existence was that its programs would be oriented toward teaching democratic values through the American liberal arts tradition. Instruction would be in English so it could draw on students throughout the region if they were proficient in English. The university has grown from a small enrollment of 208 students to over 700 students in several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. As the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) has become a regional institution, the AUBG–USAID relationship has been crucial. Now it is beginning to offer an EMBA program and has developed an excellent reputation through its graduated students.     

Local Politics,Central Power: The Future of Representative Local Government in England

When Labour took power in 1997, local government was battered and bruised, but it had survived, and indeed retained much of its vitality. What would happen next? Where the Conservatives had used the language of competition, New Labour promoted its policies around an ideology of modernisation, and rapidly introduced a new legal framework, new powers and strong incentives to improve performance. But by 2004, in the run-up to another general election, Labour increasingly emphasised the rights of consumers to choose providers of services, and the value of involving the private sector in public sector provision. There were proposals to take the finance for education and social services out of local authority control. A complex geography of partnerships and networks had developed, which required small executives of salaried councillors, far fewer than the large numbers needed by the committee system. But turnout in local elections remained low, and membership of both Labour and Conservative parties declined. The paper uses a simple stakeholder analysis to show how councillors and local activists were marginalised. It suggests that the government has a choice: it could either accept that the era of multi-skilled councillors responsible for the multi-purpose local authorities is ending, or it could radically rationalise the present quangos, partnerships and other governance structures to re-create it.     

Parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage: The relationship between institutional norms,reputation and accountability

While executive patronage brings important benefits in terms of governance and control, political influence over the selection of agency staff entails a democratic dilemma: how should the exercise of executive patronage be controlled? This article addresses this critical issue, examining Westminster's system of pre-appointment scrutiny by analysing an original database that encompasses every pre-appointment hearing held between 2007 and 2018. The article demonstrates that although the conduct of hearings accords with select committees’ longstanding commitment to cross-party working, members have not prioritized pre-appointment scrutiny relative to their other committee activities. By systematically disaggregating the factors which affect how select committees dispatch this account-holding responsibility, the article deepens previous analyses of pre-appointment scrutiny, and dovetails with scholarship examining the institutional determinants of select committee power. More broadly, it draws attention to the reputational dynamics of accountability, and how institutional norms can serve as vital reputational resources, enabling account-holders to demonstrate ‘responsible’ account-holding.     

The Evolution of the U.S. Government's Annual Report on Terrorism: A Personal Commentary

This article examines the evolution of a key U.S. Government annual publication on terrorism. From its inception in 1977 to the present, the U.S. Government's annual terrorism report has been the primary statistical compiler of international terrorist incidents. Given the magnitude of this task and the inherent difficulty in defining the term “terrorism,” this report has been controversial and criticized. Love it or hate it, for many decades, this report was the sole source of statistics on international terrorism. The author argues that despite its flaws, this unclassified annual report does provide value and usually paints a fairly accurate picture of the international terrorism landscape. Over the last two years however, there have been claims that this report has become politicized and tailored to fit the views of the administration on the terrorist threat. The author rejects this charge and claims that this publication has been objective and that it has evolved over time into a more credible and useful report.     

Ideological reactions to the national performance review

In 1993 the National Performance Review (NPR) conducted a six-month evaluation of the responsibilities of the federal public service and issued a report favoring a new model of governance. This approach embraced a net devolution in the overall national role through numerous steps involving debureaucratization and extensive deregulation within the national executive branch as well as an increased use of federalism and privatization outside it. This outlook had been popularized by journalist David Osborne and former city manager Ted Gaebler, in their book Reinventing Government, who in turn credited management luminary Peter F. Drucker.

This article analyzes public ideological reactions to the NPR report within a six-month period prior to and after its release—responses (from a population of sources found in indexes) that manifested a substantial degree of convergence.

Middle-of-the-road, conservative, and liberal observers endorsed the overall direction of this report, reflecting a consensus on its utility and viewing it as a first step. But toward what? Answers to this question revealed considerable divergence. Middle-of-the-road commentators were skeptical that the report of this commission would lead anywhere due to putative congressional opposition to any reduction in its executive oversight role and to widely expected resistance from federal workers apprehensive about layoffs and wary of an implicit Faustian bargain of looser regulation in return for improved performance. Conservative analysts were unconvinced that this report would lead to a reduced federal sector, the contours of which they only implicitly defined. Liberal observers saw the report as a vehicle toward better (more effective and just) government, a restoration of public confidence in it, and a possible opportunity for its expansion. But they, too, were unconvinced that the study would bring much progress toward these goals for a spate of philosophical, historical, fiscal, managerial, constitutional, and attitudinal reasons.

This examination concludes that these sets of reactions represent the outer limit of convergence and consensus, an implicit reaffirmation of the welfare state, and a vindication of Drucker's advocacy, although beyond the NPR report lies the question of what government ought to do.     

An Exocet in a Red Box: Parliamentary Accountability in the Sandline Affair

In the UK, it is commonly proposed that the accountability gap resulting from ministers' reluctance to accept responsibility for departmental failures could be closed by giving parliamentary select committees stronger investigative powers. In the Sandline affair the Foreign Affairs Committee sought to take on such a role, notwithstanding that a separate external inquiry was already under way. This paper compares the two mechanisms of accountability. It concludes that committees are poorly suited to investigate high‐profile administrative failures because they are too influenced by party politics. Independent inquiries are better for the purpose (though improvements are needed here too). A parliamentary resolution gave the inquiry primacy over the committee in the Sandline case. This may become an important precedent.     

An Exocet in a Red Box: Parliamentary Accountability in the Sandline Affair

In the UK, it is commonly proposed that the accountability gap resulting from ministers' reluctance to accept responsibility for departmental failures could be closed by giving parliamentary select committees stronger investigative powers. In the Sandline affair the Foreign Affairs Committee sought to take on such a role, notwithstanding that a separate external inquiry was already under way.
This paper compares the two mechanisms of accountability. It concludes that committees are poorly suited to investigate high-profile administrative failures because they are too influenced by party politics. Independent inquiries are better for the purpose (though improvements are needed here too). A parliamentary resolution gave the inquiry primacy over the committee in the Sandline case. This may become an important precedent.     

POLICE AND PUBLIC ORDER

Does economic deterioration in a developed country such as Great Britain inevitably mean increasing disorder and lawlessness? How would the forces of law and order react to authoritarian governments of the political left and right? These two questions and the likely answers form the first part of this essay. The Royal Commission on the Police (1962) faced the question of either retaining a police system based on local government or recommending its replacement by a national police force under the Home Secretary. With one powerful dissension they chose the former. They claimed to have solved the problem of democratic accountability of the police, but in recent years cracks have begun to appear in the system. The vexed question of the prospects of schism between a chief constable and his police authority committee is examined. Finally, it is suggested the British governmental institutions, including Parliament itself, are insufficiently democratic, and that a Bill of Rights protecting civil liberties is long overdue.     

Accounting Reform in Italy and Perceptions on the Local Government Consolidated Report

The article aims to explore the perception of local government (LG) financial officers on the users, the uses, and the utility of the consolidated financial report in Italy, since it was one of the first countries to expressly provide for compulsory adoption. A questionnaire was sent to a statistical stratified sample of LG, collecting 133 responses (response rate 17%). The results, tested through the structural equation model we observe that social legitimization pressure rather than accountability patterns or performance analysis drive more the adoption process. The evidence indicates that the report is perceived as a potential tool for pursuing performance assessment strategies in a group context. However, this potentiality depends on the coordination effort made by the LG. The article finds out the rise of the topic of the public governance and the role of coordinating the local public group.