Mr. Deakinsasked the Prime Minister in what ways Ministers are now involved in the management of their Departments; and what changes have been made since 1979 to this end which involve changes in the relationships between Ministers and the Civil Service.
§ The Prime MinisterMinisters have overall responsibility for the management of their Departments. In practice they may delegate day-to-day management matters as they consider appropriate to their permanent secretaries. There has been no change in the relationship between Ministers and their civil servants. We are, however, making significant improvements in the quality of management. In particular the new systems of financial management which are described in the White Paper, Cmnd. 9058, "Financial Management in Government Departments" will enable managers at all levels to have a clearer view of objectives and a better means of assessing performance.