Osmotherly Rules: statement on updated guidance
Francis Maude made a written statement on the Osmotherly Rules: guidance for ministers and civil servants on working with Select Committees.
On 2nd October 2014 the Prime Minister announced that John Manzoni had been appointed to the new position of Chief Executive of the Civil Service. Details of that announcement can be found on 188体育.
The government has also published the latest progress report on civil service reform. This report can also be found on 188体育 .
Our Civil Service Reform Plan committed to reviewing the Osmotherly Rules 鈥� the guidance to departments governing the nature of ministers鈥� and civil servants鈥� interactions with Select Committees. Following consultation with the Liaison Committee I will today publish updated guidance on 188体育. This restates the primacy of the principle of ministerial accountability but confirms that the Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) of the government鈥檚 major projects (as defined by the Major Project Authority鈥檚 Portfolio) will now be directly accountable to Parliament for the implementation of their project.
We also confirm that former Accounting Officers can be called to give evidence about their previous responsibilities within a reasonable time period. We will publish a list of SROs in due course and update it periodically.
The updated guidance is available at Departmental evidence and response to select committees: guidance.