THE NEXT STEPS AGENCIES, POLITICAL SALIENCE AND THE ARM'S-LENGTH PRINCIPLE: BARBARA CASTLE AT THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT 1965-68

The Next Steps agencies preserve a long tradition as the latest manifestation of the arm's-length principle of ministerial control. During the major part of this century, the now almost defunct public corporations offered one of the best examples of the arm's-length principle at work, and the recorded experiences of participants can provide valuable lessons for the Next Steps agencies. This article employs the diaries of Barbara Castle during her period as Transport Minister from 1965-68 in order to examine how she apportioned her time. From the evidence, a model is constructed which suggests that political salience is of greater importance than official structures in determining ministerial behaviour. Arising from the case study and the model, the final section of the article attempts to identify Next Steps agencies which have an inherently high potential for political salience, and concludes that, in this category, direct ministerial control would be preferable to the arm's-length principle.