The Executive in the Constitution

Terence Daintith is Professor of Law at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, at the University of LondonAlan Page is Professor of Public Law at the University of London

• 1. The executive in the constitution ; I Introduction ; II Why is the executive important? ; III Why is the executive neglected? ; IV Positive constitutional theory ; V The executive in a resource-based theory of the constitution ; 2. The executive in constitutional law ; I Introduction ; II The Crown ; III The ministerial department ; IV Hollowing out the department ; V The cabinet and ministry ; VI Conclusion ; 3. The civil service ; I Introduction ; II The legal basis of control ; III The organisation of control ; IV Recruitment ; V Conduct and discipline ; VI Conclusions ; 4. The financial resources of the government: institutions ; I Introduction: the constitutional dimension ; II The constitutional structure ; III The institutions of the executive ; 5. The financial resources of government: allocation and appropriation ; I Introduction: a plurality of systems ; II The Public Expenditure Survey system ; III The Supply system ; IV Resource accounting and budgeting ; 6. The financial resources of government: monitoring and control ; I In general: criteria, constraints, concepts ; II Treasury authorisations and delegations ; III Cash control ; IV Control and sanctions ; 7. The organisation of the legal function in government ; I Introduction ; II The development of the structure for government legal work ; III The current structure of legal services ; IV The Law Officers: history and status ; 8. Legislation ; I Introduction ; II Machinery and purposes ; III The impact of Europe ; IV Burdens on Business ; V Conclusions ; 9. Litigation and legal advice: co-ordination and control ; I The Law Officers, criminal prosecutions, and civil litigation ; II The Law Officers as the governments chief legal advisers ; III Cabinet Office co-ordination in legal matters ; IV Co-ordination within the framework of the Government Legal Service ; 10. Executive legality: constitutional background and current issues ; I Legality: pluralism and centralisation ; II Constitutional roots of our present system ; III The changing context ; IV Change within the executive ; 11. Better government: charter standards, open government and good administration ; I Introduction ; II The Citizens Charter and Service First ; III Access to official information ; IV External controls on standards of administration ; V Conclusion ; 12. Conclusions: internal control in a plural executive ; I Introduction ; II Trends in internal control ; III Internal control and external controls ; IV The constitutional significance of internal control ; Bibliography

this is a formidable addition to the literature of modern UK government and public administration, written from an unusual and innovative constitutional-legal perspective ... particuarly impressive in its skilful intermixing of historical analysis of traditional principles and a wide-ranging review of the implications of post-1979 public management reforms ... an extraordinary wealth of detail ... a useful and truly impressive book.