Abstract
Accountability norms for governmental officials (central government civil servants to local government officers) in the UK were traditionally stable and predictable, and based upon the primacy of political accountability. At central government level the mode of accountability was through the doctrine of individual ministerial responsibility within a majoritarian setting, and in local authorities, the accountability of officers was to committees of elected councillors normally dominated by one party. From the 1980s onwards, however, a series of new dynamics created more complex accountability relationships. These developments stemmed in part from the emergence of the New Public Management and ‘modernisation’ agendas, restructuring of central government through the process of agencification, the rise of consumerist modes of accountability, and the establishment of statute-based freedom of information.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Future of Governance |
Subtitle of host publication | Selected Papers from the Fifth Transatlantic Dialogue on Public Administration |
Editors | T. Brandsen , M. Holzer |
Publisher | National Center for Public Performance |
ISBN (Print) | 9780942942217 |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2010 |
Keywords
- multilevel governance
- public sector
- accountability
- United Kingdom