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This authoritative text examines the arrangements at the centre of Whitehall for advising the British prime minister and Cabinet, especially during the Thatcher and Major governments. The traditional coordinating centre has shifted from the Treasury to the Prime Minister's Office and the Chief Whip's Office in Downing Street, and to the Cabinet Office in Whitehall. Exploration of the separate but interlinking contributions made by these three parts of the centre shows they form a flexible but not entirely adequate support for modern government.
List of contents
List of Figures and Tables - Preface - Introduction - Shaping the Centre - PART 1: SUPPORTING THE PRIME MINISTER - The Prime Minister's Office: The Overall Picture - The Private Office - The Press Office - The Political Office - The Policy Unit and Other Policy Advisers - PART 2: MANAGING GOVERNMENT BUSINESS - The Administrative Setting of Cabinet Responsibilities - Servicing Cabinet and Its Committees - Inquiry and Analysis - The 'Sinecure' Ministers - Organizing and Managing the Civil Service - Conclusion
Report
'...This is a rigorous piece of research and writing which is likely to become the staple source on the central executive's inner core, at least as far as the mid-1990s.' - Robert Pyper, Parliamentary Affairs
