Minister for the Civil Service#Civil Service Department

In recognition of the primary authority of the prime minister over the Civil Service, it is a constitutional convention that the ministry would always be held by the prime minister.{{cite newspaper The Times |title=Ministers in merger dilemma |first=David |last=Wood |date=17 October 1968 |page=1 |issue=57384}} The list of ministers for the civil service is therefore identical to the list of prime ministers of the United Kingdom from 1968 onwards.

By the terms of the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992, the minister may delegate his or her power to ministers and others such as the Scottish Government.{{sfn|Pilkington|1999|page=153}} Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed Tom Watson to be responsible for digital engagement and Civil Service issues,{{cite web |last=Sparrow |first=Andrew |title=Profile: Tom Watson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/02/tom-watson-profile |date=2 June 2009 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2 September 2017}} while the Prime Minister has given the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the Cabinet Office (Pat McFadden and Nick Thomas-Symonds respectively) responsibility for the Civil Service.{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-02/debates/ACE798E4-1624-4BF6-95EC-DFD60C266F05/MinisterialCode#contribution-A3D4B966-A718-4935-AB51-7E5A2111A2BD|title=Ministerial Code|website=Hansard|date=2 March 2020|access-date=3 March 2020|quote=As the Minister responsible for the civil service, I am pleased to be here in order to be able to uphold the ministerial code|last=Gove|first=Michael |author-link=Michael Gove}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/03/02/priti-patel-allegations-will-investigated-cabinet-office-government/|title= Priti Patel allegations will be investigated by Cabinet Office, Government says|website=The Telegraph|date=2 March 2020|access-date=2 March 2020|last1=Yorke|first1=Harry|last2=Hymas|first2=Charles|quote=Michael Gove, the Cabinet minister responsible for the civil service}}

The Transfer of Functions (Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service) Order 1995, a statutory instrument which transferred functions to the minister responsible for the Civil Service, came into force on 1 April 1995.{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/269/made |title=The Transfer of Functions (Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service) Order 1995 |work=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=30 January 2021}}

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 codifies the power of the Minister for the Civil Service to manage the Civil Service, including the power to make appointments, the publication of the Civil Service code of conduct, and the right to be consulted before publication of recruitment principles by the Civil Service Commission.{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/25/part/1 |title=Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, sections 3(1), 3(3), 5(1), 11(2) |work=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=30 January 2021}} The Act also requires the Minister for the Civil Service to publish a special adviser code of conduct, approve the terms and conditions of appointment of special advisers, and publish an annual report about special advisers serving the UK government.{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/25/part/1 |title=Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, sections 8(1), 15(1), 16(1) |work=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=30 January 2021}}

The ministership was created for Harold Wilson on 1 November 1968 when responsibilities for the pay and management of the Civil Service was transferred from HM Treasury to a new Civil Service Department.{{sfn|Daintith|Page|1999}}

Margaret Thatcher announced the abolition of the Civil Service Department to the House of Commons on 12 November 1981.{{cite web |title=HC Stmnt: [Civil Service Department (Transfer of Responsibilities)] |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104739 |date=12 November 1981 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |access-date=2 September 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldselect/ldpubsrv/055/psrep07.htm |title=Part 3: Changes in the Public Service since 1967 (Continued) |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |year=1998 |access-date=2 September 2017}}

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• {{cite book|last1=Daintith|first1=Terence|last2=Page|first2=Alan C.|title=The Executive in the Constitution: Structure, Autonomy, and Internal Control|chapter=Introduction|chapter-url=http://fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/academic/pdf/13/9780198268703.pdf|date=26 August 1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-826870-3}}
• {{cite book|last=Pilkington|first=Colin|title=The Civil Service in Britain Today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0z4Rk3d7fZcC&pg=PA153|year=1999|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5224-8}}

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{{Cabinet positions in the United Kingdom}}

United Kingdom

Civil Service