The Emergence of a ‘New’ Ethical Framework for Civil Servants

This article considers the increasing codification of the conduct of permanent civil servants in the UK over the past quarter of a century. It examines the demise of traditional approaches and traces the development of a ‘new’ ethical framework. It does so by examining the work of various public bodies, for example the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the Public Administration Select Committee. It sets these changes in the context of management changes in government and the changing nature of the relationships between ministers and civil servants. The author suggests that developing a ‘new’ ethical framework on the basis of traditional values and constitutional ‘certainties’ is the wrong answer to a misidentified problem.