§ The Lord Orr-Ewingasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether arrangements have yet been made for future appointments on secondment to the Home Civil Service and Diplomatic Service to be made in compliance with the Civil Service Order in Council 1982.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Belstead)My right honourable friend the Prime Minister announced on 18th March 1985, that measures were being taken to provide that future secondments to appointments in the Home Civil Service and Diplomatic Service were made in compliance with the Civil Service Order in Council 1982 and any regulations made under that order. Since that date, such secondments have been subject to the approval of the Civil Service Commissioners, acting under the discretion conferred by Article 1(2)(g) of the Order in Council, pending the issue of new regulations.
New regulations covering secondments have now been made by the Civil Service Commissioners with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. These regulations are effective from 1st May 1986. They are designed to provide flexibility in maintaining the programme of inward secondments, to which the Government attach importance because of the benefits it brings to the departments and individuals concerned, consistent with the Civil Service Commissioners' responsibilities under the 1982 Order in Council. Under the new arrangements, the qualifications of a person being proposed for a secondment which is subject to the new general regulations will need to be approved by the commissioners and no such appointment can be made unless the commissioners have issued their certificate of qualification. The revised general regulations provide the commissioners with a discretionary power to waive the normal requirement of open competititon in appropriate cases.
A copy of the revised general regulations has been placed in the Library.