The growth of Executive Agencies (agencies) in the UK public sector has been rapid. While the first agency was established as recently as 1988, by September 1998 over 75 per cent of civil servants were working in such organisations. They were created to improve the efficiency and effectiveness...

This article examines the impact of devolution, the New Public Management and public management culture on accounting for democratic accountability in the first term of the devolved national assemblies and parliament in the UK. Although there is more openness, transparency, consultation and...

Since 1988, the role of Next Steps executive agencies has been crucial in delivering central government services. Agencies were established to improve service delivery, with changes being supported by an increasing focus on quantification. The Government argued that performance measures and...