Download or read book Leaks and whistleblowing in Whitehall written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-08-10 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee calls for better and more accessible procedures for civil servants to raise concerns about the conduct of government. A route should to be established whereby evidence that a minister had misled Parliament or the public could be reported to Parliament following a complaint by a civil servant. Leaks damage trust within government and trust in government. The Committee concludes that leak investigations are often hamstrung by the fact that many leaks are politically motivated, including leaks from ministers and special advisers. The most effective way to prevent leaks by civil servants is to have accessible, effective and visible ways for individuals to raise concerns about the conduct of government, either internally or through an external oversight body, the Civil Service Commissioners. The report makes the following key recommendations: the Civil Service Commissioners should have the power to report to Parliament evidence indicating that the government was misleading Parliament or the public or the fact that the Civil Service has refused to act on a justified complaint; the Commissioners should also conduct independent investigation of breaches of confidentiality by special advisers; the leaking of information should only be a criminal matter where there is a breach of the Official Secrets Act or there is evidence of serious criminal misconduct; the Cabinet Office, Heads of Departments and the Civil Service Commissioners should do more to ensure that potential whistleblowers know how to raise concerns and have the confidence to come forward with them.
Download or read book Leaks Whistleblowing and the Public Interest written by Ashley Savage and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-26 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first of its kind to provide an in-depth treatment of the law of unauthorised disclosures in the United Kingdom. Drawing upon extensive data obtained using freedom of information as a methodology and examples from comparative jurisdictions, the book considers the position of civil servants, employees of the security and intelligence services and service personnel in the armed forces. It considers the protections available, the consequences of leaking and a full assessment of the authorised alternatives.
Download or read book National Security Public Health Exceptions to Human Rights written by Myriam Feinberg and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book deals with the complicated relationships between national security and human rights, and between public health and human rights. Its premise is the fact that national security and public health are both included in human rights instruments as ‘exceptions’ to the human rights therein sanctioned, yet they can arguably be considered as human rights themselves and be equally valuable. The book therefore asks to what extent the protection of the individual could – or should – be overridden to enable the protection of the national security or public health of the general public. Both practice and case law have shown that human rights risk being set aside when they clash with the protection of national security or public health. Through theoretical analysis and practical examples, the book addresses the conflicts that arise when the concepts of national security and public health are used – and abused – and other rights, including freedom of speech, procedural freedoms, individual health, are violated as a consequence. It provides many interesting findings on the values that states are ready to protect – and forego – to ensure their safety, which can contribute to the ongoing debate on the protection of human rights. This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of Human Rights.
Download or read book Policing Process of Home Office Leaks Inquiry written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 27 November 2008 a senior Member of Parliament and Opposition spokesman, Mr Damian Green, was arrested by police and his home and offices searched in connection with an investigation into the leak and publication of a number of government documents. Press reports indicated that Mr Green was believed to have received government documents from a Home Office official, Mr Christopher Galley, who had been arrested eight days earlier and who had subsequently admitted to having leaked some documents. This series of events, and particularly the fact that Mr Green's office at the House of Commons was searched without the police producing a warrant, caused considerable disquiet. The Committee's remit was to review the internal processes of the House administration for granting permission for such action (as police searches of Members' offices and seizure of their papers), and to make recommendations for the future. As a starting point, the reasons why the police were requested to investigate the suspected disclosure of government information and how many disclosures, the type of information that had been leaked, in particular, whether any of it was relevant to national security or was otherwise classified, and the efforts that had been made to discover the source of the leaks before the police were called in. Also the Committee wished to disentangle the roles of the Home Office and the Cabinet Office in the investigation process. The Committee concluded the Home Office appears to have followed best practice for investigating leaks, as set out in the Cabinet Office's Memorandum to the Committees' sister Committee. But there are concerns that growing frustration in both the Home Office and the Cabinet Office may have led officials to give an exaggerated impression of the damage done by the leaks that could reasonably be presumed to have emanated from the Home Office. The Committee thought it was unhelpful to give the police the impression that the Home Office leaker(s) had already caused considerable damage to national security. The Cabinet Office's guidance to departments says that it is appropriate to involve the police in leak investigations when they involve "a serious and damaging impact on the functioning of a Department and suspicion of leaking sensitive information". However, it is easy to imagine circumstances in which a leak of sensitive information could lead to a damaging impact on the functioning of a Department without falling within the categories laid down in statute. The Cabinet Office's guidance therefore seems to leave open the possibility of involving the police in an investigation without any suspicion let alone evidence that a criminal offence under the Act has taken place. The Committee recommend that the Cabinet Office revise its guidance to preclude this possibility.
Download or read book Civil Servants and Politics written by C. Neuhold and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-03-25 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comparative study focuses on the changing relations between civil servants and politicians in the European Union in the last two decades. As well as national case studies this book also looks into politico-administrative relations in supranational institutions such as the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Download or read book Police searches on the Parliamentary Estate written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee on Issue of Privilege and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-22 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HC 1040-i, ii and ii, session 2008-09. About the police search on 27 November 2009 of the Parliamentary offices of Damian Green MP, who had been leaked some restricted papers by a Home Office official
Download or read book MPs Expenses written by Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seeks views on the content and administration of the MPs' expenses scheme. This title includes chapters that cover: scope of the consultation; principles of the scheme; working as an MP; expenses and allowances; administering the expenses scheme; working from two locations - accommodation for MPs; travel and subsistence; and, staff for MPs.
Download or read book Transparency and the open society written by Taylor, Roger and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2016-06-20 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greater transparency is increasingly seen as the answer to a wide range of social issues by governments, NGOs and businesses around the world. However, evidence of its impact is mixed. Using case studies from around the world including India, Tanzania, the UK and US, Transparency and the open society surveys the adoption of transparency globally, providing an essential framework for assessing its likely performance as a policy and the steps that can be taken to make it more effective. It addresses the role of transparency in the context of growing use by governments and businesses of surveillance and database driven decision making. The book is written for anyone involved in the use of transparency whether campaigning from outside or working inside government or business to develop policies.
Download or read book Beyond WikiLeaks written by Benedetta Brevini and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2010 release of US embassy diplomatic cables put WikiLeaks into the international spotlight. Revelations by the leaks sparked intense debate within international diplomacy, journalism and society. This book reflects on the implications of WikiLeaks across politics and media, and on the results of leak journalism and transparency activism.
Download or read book Intelligence Elites and Public Accountability written by Vian Bakir and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a definitive overview of the relationships of influence between civil society and intelligence elites. The secrecy surrounding intelligence means that publication of intelligence is highly restricted, barring occasional whistle-blowing and sanitised official leaks. These characteristics mean that intelligence, if publicised, can be highly manipulated by intelligence elites, while civil society’s ability to assess and verify claims is compromised by absence of independent evidence. There are few studies on the relationship between civil society and intelligence elites, which makes it hard to form robust assessments or practical recommendations regarding public oversight of intelligence elites. Addressing that lacuna, this book analyses two case studies of global political significance. The intelligence practices they focus on (contemporary mass surveillance and Bush-era torture-intelligence policies) have been presented as vital in fighting the ‘Global War on Terror’, enmeshing governments of scores of nation-states, while challenging internationally established human rights to privacy and to freedom from torture and enforced disappearance. The book aims to synthesise what is known on relationships of influence between civil society and intelligence elites. It moves away from disciplinary silos, to make original recommendations for how a variety of academic disciplines most likely to study the relationship between civil society and intelligence elites (international relations, history, journalism and media) could productively cross-fertilise. Finally, it aims to create a practical benchmark to enable civil society to better hold intelligence elites publicly accountable. This book will be of great interest to students of intelligence studies, surveillance, media, journalism, civil society, democracy and IR in general.
Download or read book Civil Service Systems in Western Europe Second Edition written by Frits M. van der Meer and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-31 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thoroughly revised and updated second edition of Civil Service Systems in Western Europe presents a comprehensive overview of the important issues in modern bureaucracies and provides a comparative analysis of the civil service systems of various Western European nations.
Download or read book Top Pay in the Public Sector written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report calls for a Top Pay Commission to 'name and shame' public sector organisations that pay excessive salaries to their top officials. The Commission would produce principles and benchmarks to be followed by pay setters and would be able to launch investigations where these were breached. PASC believes a Top Pay Commission would ensure greater coherence to the setting of top pay across the public sector. PASC concludes that massive increases in private sector executive salaries over the last ten years have led to smaller, but sometimes still very large, increases at the top of the public sector. This 'contagion effect' has meant that the highest salaries in both sectors have increased much faster than average earnings. PASC also identified a number of weaknesses with current arrangements for setting pay in the public sector. These include variable levels of transparency, tensions between devolved and centralised pay setting systems, a perception that some public servants have been rewarded for failure and a tendency for some parts of the public sector to compete against others for a small number of experienced candidates, rather than growing talent internally. Some of the Committee's other key recommendations include: a call for better human resource management across the public sector, to ensure talent is promoted from within and failure is not rewarded; recommendations that would lead to publication of salaries and bonuses across the public sector more in line with the requirements placed on listed companies; and a proposal to ensure all public sector executive reward packages are drawn up either by independent bodies or remuneration committees with a majority of independent members
Download or read book Lobbying written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lobbying : Developments since the Committee's first report of session 2008-09, fifth report of Session 2009-10
Download or read book Outsiders and insiders written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-02-02 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the practice of recruiting externally to the senior civil service (SCS). Outside recruitment has been used to fill skills shortages and to bring new perspectives to government, but has also been criticised for potentially diluting core civil service values and for being poor value for money. PASC concludes that the senior civil service has depended too heavily on external recruitment in recent years, and should now take steps to reduce its reliance on outside appointments. PASC also found that external recruits do not appear to perform better than career civil servants - despite being paid more, on average - and many leave civil service employment relatively quickly. Nonetheless, given the existence of skills gaps and the other benefits that external recruits can bring, PASC believes that there will continue to be a place for outside appointments in civil service recruitment. PASC further concludes that the extent of recent external recruitment is symptomatic of a wider concern: the ability of the civil service to identify its current and future skills needs, and to plan effectively to meet those needs. PASC recommends that the emphasis of civil service employment policy should be on developing its own people and skills, rather than seeking to draw these in from outside.
Download or read book Goats and tsars written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-11 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report from the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) concludes that the practice of appointing ministers from outside Parliament via the House of Lords should be exceptional and subject to more checks and balances. Introducing a wider range of experience into ministerial teams can sometimes make government more effective, but government could also achieve this by making greater use of the range of talent on their own backbenches. The Committee argues for more scrutiny of outside appointments when they are made. The Prime Minister would be required to explain to the House of Commons why an appointment had been made, under what terms and what was expected of the minister during their time in government. The prospective appointee could be required to attend a pre-appointment select committee hearing. PASC identifies a strong argument of principle that ministers in an unelected House of Lords should be accountable to all Members of the House of Commons. People who have been appointed to the Lords to be ministers should not automatically receive a title and place in the legislature for life. It may be preferable to have a limited number of ministers who are members of neither House but accountable to both. The Committee also examined the role of so-called 'tsars'. There should be much more transparency about such appointments, with greater clarity about their roles and responsibilities and a public statement of what they have achieved in their posts.
Download or read book Parliament and the Ombudsman written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A further report following, and Government response to, HC 107 (9780215542519)
Download or read book Too many ministers written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-16 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee examines the number of ministers in the United Kingdom Government and calls for substantial reductions in the number of government ministers and in the wider payroll vote in the House of Commons. It also builds on some of the conclusions of their report on Good Government (HC 97, session 2008-09, 8th report (ISBN 9780215532244). There are currently 119 ministers in the United Kingdom Government, in addition to those in the devolved institutions. The Committee is sceptical about claims that this reflects the growing complexity of government, noting that in the years around 1950 the government created the welfare state, undertook major nationalisations and administered the British Empire with only 81 ministers.The Committee concludes that some junior ministerial posts are unnecessary and moreover that an excessive number of posts is harmful to good government, costly and inefficient; even where ministers are unpaid. There is also concern about the size of the 'payroll vote' in the House of Commons, which now comprises nearly 40 per cent of the governing Parliamentary Party.The Committee's key recommendations are: A reduction in the number of ministers of around one third; steps to close the loop-hole whereby unpaid ministers do not count against some statutory limits on the numbers of ministers; halving the number of Parliamentary Private Secretaries by restricting them to one for each Department or Cabinet Ministers and abolishing Parliamentary Assistants to Regional Ministers; and a limit on the total size of the payroll vote in the House of Commons of 15 per cent of its total membership.
