06 June 2008
The government's proposals for constitutional renewal have fallen short of its promise to transfer vital powers to Parliament, according to a new report by the Commons public administration select committee.
The PASC gave the proposals a broad welcome but said that more was needed to protect the 'core values' of the civil service. It also described as 'disappointingly limited' plans to transfer to Parliament major powers such as the decision to go to war.
PASC chair Tony Wright said the committee welcomed the proposals. But he added: 'When we looked into the detail, we started to get concerned. The prime minister said he wanted to entrust more power to Parliament, but the proposals don't show much trust. Every time the government proposes a parliamentary safeguard, there's a loophole for “exceptional circumstances” to allow the government to go ahead regardless.'
The report, published on June 4, criticises the fact that the prime minister will continue to have complete discretion over the information Parliament is allowed to see when deciding whether to support a decision to go to war.
The committee welcomed the government's proposals to protect the impartiality of the civil service but added that the Bill needed to be 'watertight' if it was to provide any protection against a government that might undermine the service's core values.
The report called for greater clarity on the role of special advisers, adding that they should not be allowed to spend public money, manage civil servants or exercise statutory powers. A joint committee has been set up to scrutinise the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill in its entirety.
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