Enduring values in the British civil service

Despite the Blair government's claim that it wants to preserve the "enduring values" of the civil service, recent reforms seem to undermine long-standing constitutional conventions and the public service values that underpin them. This article examines the current debate by comparing the government's vision of a responsible bureaucracy as seen in its reform initiatives to the responses of other participants, especially the Committee on Standards in Public Life. It evaluates the effect of recent reforms on public service values and asks whether the approach taken by the committee to guard these values is sufficient.