Constitutional Reform (Prerogative Powers and Civil Service Etc.) Bill

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Central Lobby

What the Bill does

Our View Charter 88 and the New Politics Network have campaigned for some time for the reform of the prerogative powers. We believe that it is unacceptable that the executive can exercise power without being accountable to or scrutinised by Parliament. We welcome this Bill and will follow its progress with interest. For furrther information on our work on the Royal Perogative please see the section on Accountability.

The Bill is intended to introduce reforms in relation to a range of Ministerial powers that are exercisable by virtue of the Royal Prerogative. Prerogative powers are rights and powers given to Ministers by the Sovereign. There is no definitive statement of the scope of these powers but they include the powers to ratify treaties with other countries, to mobilise troops, to regulate the Civil Service and make appointments to certain public positions. Other examples of prerogative powers that are relied on by Government are the powers to issue and withdraw passports and to grant honours.

The Bill makes provision, amongst other things, with respect to:

a statutory basis for review by Parliament of executive powers generally, with specific requirements in relation to treaties and armed combat;
the principles for appointments to, and the operation of, the Civil Service;
the duties of special advisers;
the establishment of the Civil Service Commission as a statutory body;
the functions of the Civil Service Commission, including powers of oversight of Civil Service appointments and conduct;
the creation of the office of Commissioner for Public Appointments to advise on appointments to certain public offices and the establishment of a Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee to approve them;
direct public access to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.

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March 2006

The Constitutional Reform (Prerogative Powers and Civil Service etc) Bill, presented by Lord Lester of Herne Hill, received its second reading on the 3rd March.

Speaking at the second reading Lord Lester said

A central question raised by this Bill is: who should be sovereign, Parliament or the Executive? Another question is whether our present Parliament is willing to take the theory of Parliamentary sovereignty seriously by translating it into political and legal reality. The principle on which the Bill is based is that in our modem democratic society Parliament rather than the Executive should be sovereign, as was envisaged by those who made the constitutional settlement in 1688.

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