Peers call for curb on PM's powers

Peers call for curb on PM's powers
12 April 2012

The Prime Minister exercises too much unaccountable power and should be subject to tougher scrutiny, peers have said.

An investigation by the Lords Constitution Committee concluded that the PM's twice-yearly appearance before a senior Commons committee was inadequate.

It called for the Permanent Secretary at Number 10 - a top civil service post created by Gordon Brown - to face parliamentary grillings.

And it said the Cabinet Office was being used as a "dustbin" for myriad policy units and demanded a beefed-up role for its most senior minister.

"Structures of accountability should mirror structures of power, and where structures of power have changed, the structures of accountability should be adjusted accordingly," the report said.

"The role of the Prime Minister should be mirrored by increased transparency and more effective accountability. Whilst we welcome the biannual appearance by the Prime Minister before the House of Commons Liaison Committee, we do not believe that this goes far enough in securing the parliamentary accountability of the Prime Minister's Office."

The Prime Minister's Office, and its Permanent Secretaries, should be "subject to appropriate parliamentary accountability mechanisms", it suggested.

Too many policy units were being retained within the Cabinet Office rather than appropriate departments, the peers found, adding to their fears of a lack of accountability.

"The Cabinet Office has tended to function less as an incubator and more as a dustbin. The fact that policy units for which no other home can be found have been placed in the Cabinet Office underlines the constitutional importance of ensuring that the Cabinet Office and the units within it are properly held to account," the report said - calling for a review of the situation.

The peers said the responsibilities of the Cabinet Office Minister - presently held by Tessa Jowell - were "ill-defined" and should be reviewed to ensure they "accurately reflect and account for the strategic role that the Cabinet Office plays".

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