The Bureaucrat Who Fell Under a Bus
Ministerial Responsibility, Executive Agencies and The Derek Lewis Affair in Britain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6264464 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Charles Polidano (0009-0000-8611-5674, University of Manchester, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 201-229 |
| Publication date | 1999-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Governance (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0952-1895 • E-ISSN: 1468-0491 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/0952-1895.981999098 |
| OpenAlex | W1987896348 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 19 |
Various concerns have been raised about the practicability of Next Steps and the adequacy of accountability mechanisms in Britain, particularly after the dismissal of Derek Lewis as chief executive of the Prison Service. This article critically reviews these concerns. It argues that the agency model is viable notwithstanding doubts about the practicability of the policy–operations distinction; that Next Steps is not the cause of defective accountability or the scapegoating of bureaucrats by ministers; and that a commonly proposed solution—making agency heads accountable to parliamentary select committees—has fundamental drawbacks of its own. The “conventional wisdom” that Next Steps cannot work ignores important evidence and badly needs reassessment
Accountability · Agency (philosophy · Dismissal · Fell · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Prison · Scapegoating · Sociology · Work (physics · Engineering · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
Governing Europe
The Politics of Public Service Bargains
The Changing European State
Contentious Politics in Western Europe and the United States
On Studying Governments
Recasting European Welfare States
What Is New About Governance and Why Does It Matter?
Comparing Economic Interest Organizations
The Demise of an Agency Director – A Puzzling Saga of Political Control and Professional Autonomy
Measuring Public Sector Capacity
Form and Content
UK Ministerial Responsibility in 2002
Public Accountability of Provider Agencies
The Dialectics of Accountability for Performance in Public Management Reform
Agencification revisited
The Public Service Bargain in the United Kingdom
Surveying the Landscape of Modernisation
Governance, Administrative Science, and the Paradoxes of New Public Management
Evaluating Executive Agencies in UK Government
| Citations per year | 0.73 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2000 - 2022 (23) |
| Highly cited | No |