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III. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Page 196 of 366
age 196 of 366 23. Most of the rules and practices governing participation in political activities are of long standing and date from a time when conditions were in many ways different from those obtaining today. Even since the changes recommended by the Blanesburgh Committee were implemented rather more than twenty years ago, the functions of government have greatly altered. It is worth noting here the main developments which have affected the character of the problem confronting us.
24. First there has been an immense extension of administrative action. With it, the number of civil servants has increased from about 335,000 non- industrials and 125,000 industrials in 1935 to more than 700,000 and 400,000 respectively today. Thus over 1,100,000 people are affected by the present enquiry. At the same time the Civil Service has been brought into much more intimate association with the life of every citizen, since the growth has been most pronounced in the field of social services and in the sphere of economic affairs where Government Departments now have to take a far more prominent and vigorous line.
25. Secondly, a feature of this extension has been the delegation of powers of both a legislative and a semi-judicial character to civil servants. An increasing amount of administrative action today is done under regulation rather than directly under Act of Parliament.
26. Thirdly, whereas in the early years of this century only a few central Departments had local officials, there are now many local officials, who, in the eyes of large numbers of citizens, represent the State. These, as well as those employed centrally, may, moreover, possess considerable discretionary power to give decisions affecting the life of the community.
IV. THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST CHANGE
27. We understand that the Staff Side of the Civil Service National Whitley Council have for some time expressed dissatisfaction with the existing situa- tion and have repeatedly made representations urging the removal of the limitations at present imposed upon the political activities of civil servants. We accordingly began our enquiry by inviting evidence, both written and oral, from the National Staff Side who represent all the principal staff associations of the non-industrial Civil Service. We gave them a second hearing before completing our Report. We have received in addition a memorandum and oral evidence from witnesses on behalf of the Association of First Division Civil Servants, representing the Administrative grades; we separately because, although they reaffiliated to the National Staff Side in 1948, they had been unaffiliated since 1926. We have also heard a deputa- tion from the Trade Union Side of the Joint Co-ordinating Committee for Government Industrial Establishments representing the industrial Civil Service.
saw them
28. The National Staff Side in their evidence sought the abrogation of the Servants of the Crown (Parliamentary Candidature) Order, 1927. In their view, civil servants, because of their experience of the administrative machine, were particularly well qualified for service in Parliament, and it was both inconsistent with the natural rights of the civil servant as a citizen, and harmful to the public interest, if he were not allowed to offer himself for this other form of public service and to serve the community for the time being in another capacity, without being expected to sacrifice his career, security of employment, and pension rights. The Staff Side therefore proposed that no civil servant of any grade should in future be prevented from standing