§ 45. Sir HENRY CRAIKasked the Prime Minister what was the nature of the instrument by which in 1867 the title of principal officer of the Civil Service was conferred upon the Secretary to the Treasury; what was the nature of the authority thereby given; what further change was made in 1919; and whether either of these instruments conferred upon that officer any right of interference in regard to appointments to other Departments?
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Baldwin)As already stated in my reply to questions on the 18th instant, the title of Permanent Secretary to the Treasury 519 was introduced in 1867. The official file containing the Treasury Minute and the papers leading up to it has been missing for over 50 years. The terms of the earliest extant record of the status of the Permanent Secretary as official head of the Civil Service, dating from 1878, makes it clear that such status was at that time a well-established fact, and I am led to the conclusion that it coincided in date with the re-organisation of the Treasury in 1867 and did not precede it. The position was re-affirmed, on the occasion of the reorganisation of the Treasury in 1919, by Treasury Minute. The official head of the Civil Service has the duty of advising the Prime Minister in regard to Civil Service appointments; and the approval of the Prime Minister is required in the case of all the more important appointments throughout the Service. The responsibility for making appointments rests with the Prime Minister and his Ministerial colleagues; and it is the duty of the official head of the Service to assist Ministers in the discharge of this responsibility with the best advice in his power.
§ Sir H. CRAIKHas the Prime Minister consulted any of the surviving Secretaries of the Treasury, who might give him very valuable information? Further, has the legal aspect of the matter been submitted to the Law Officers of the Crown, and is it not the case that the whole responsibility for making appointments in any particular office rests with the Minister entrusted by the King with the charge of that office?
§ The PRIME MINISTERThat is a rather long question to go into by way of question and answer, but, during the whole of my short experience of ministerial life, the selection of the permanent secretaries of all the big offices, and, I think, one or two more of the head officials in these various Government offices, is in all cases the responsibility of the Prime Minister. It is perfectly obvious that the Prime Minister must have someone to consult in making these appointments, and the natural person for him to consult is the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury.
§ Sir H. CRAIKIs it not the case that the first person whom the Prime Minister has to consult, and always in the past 520 has consulted, is the Minister responsible for the Department; and is that Minister's authority to be overridden by the advice of a permanent civil servant?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI assure my right hon. Friend that he is in error there. I attach the greatest importance to the ultimate selection being in the hands of the Prime Minister, because I think the Prime Minister, in his capacity as head of the Government, is probably the safest person in whose hands important appointments which affect the whole Service can be.