This chapter describes the various public authorities and their legal status. These include the Crown and ministers; the civil service and the law of Crown service; some governmental functions of more importance to administrative law; and the filing and investigation of complaints against the government.
Chapter
3. The Central Government
Sir William Wade and Christopher Forsyth
Chapter
3. The Central Government
Sir William Wade, Christopher Forsyth, and Julian Ghosh
This chapter describes the various public authorities and their legal status. These include the Crown and ministers; the civil service and the law of Crown service; some governmental functions of more importance to administrative law; and the filing and investigation of complaints against the government.
Chapter
7. Central government
This chapter examines the structure and role of central government, with the latter part focusing on the key constitutional requirement that the government is accountable to the people through Parliament, reflecting the democratic nature of the constitution. The phrase ‘central government’ refers to the Prime Minister, Cabinet, ministers, government departments, and civil servants. Informally, these parts of central government are often referred to as ‘Whitehall’, reflecting how most government departments and the Prime Minister are based around that area of central London close to Westminster. A more constitutionally appropriate phrase is the ‘executive’. However, this term can also be taken to mean other elements which include the governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, as well as local government and organizations such as the police.