Power is 'too centralised with the PM'

Friday, January 29, 2010

Political power in England is too centralised with the Prime Minister and Downing Street must be more accountable, the House of Lords Constitution Committee has said.

The committee said that increasingly the Cabinet Office had become responsible for overseeing the delivery of government policy across departments but accountability mechanisms in the UK constitution were not set up to reflect this "new reality".

"Structures of accountability should mirror structures of power, and where structures of power have changed, the structures of accountability should be adjusted accordingly," the committee said. "Parliament should ensure that its accountability mechanisms adapt to the changing nature of policy formation and delivery [and] government should ensure that the mechanism of the policy formation and delivery process remains transparent."

The committee also said that the role of the minister for the Cabinet Office was poorly defined and the position was not a strong one within government. It needed to be reassessed.

The MPs then said the process of change in the machinery of government and the role and function of the Lord Chancellor when Tony Blair was at Number 10 was based on "wholly inadequate" consultation within government and with the senior judiciary and there was "no justification for failure to consult on these important reforms". In future, the Cabinet Office should play a formal role in investigating any machinery of government changes, especially those with constitutional implications, the committee suggested.

Committee chairman Lord Goodlad said: "The evidence we received clearly suggested that power within the Cabinet has become more centralised with the Prime Minister. The role of the Cabinet Office has increasingly involved ensuring that the PM's priorities are delivered across government. In the light of this, it is important that parliamentary and other scrutiny adapt to reflect this. It is crucial that structures of accountability mirror structures of power as they are in reality rather than in theory."

He went on: "One step towards achieving this would be to make the responsibilities of the minister for the Cabinet Office clearer. Given the importance of the Cabinet Office in delivering government policy, the post should have the prestige within the cabinet that it deserves."