§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service what recent representations he has received from the Civil Service trade unions on their wider obligations to the Crown in Parliament.
§ Mr. LuceIn the course of discussions about the revision of the Civil Service pay and conditions of service code to take account of the Official Secrets Act 1989, the unions expressed reservations about the implications of a passage in the revision which follows the note by the former head of the home Civil Service on the duties and responsibilities of civil servants in relation to Ministers (the Armstrong memorandum) in describing the constitutional position of civil servants in relation to Ministers. This is one of a number of issues to be discussed at a meeting which has been arranged between the Civil Service unions and the head of the home Civil Service.