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Professor Kevin Theakston, Professor of British Government at the University of Leeds, and co-author of William Armstrong and British Policy Making (Palgrave Macmillan 2018). Armstrong was the inaugural head of the Civil Service Department, the establishment of which Fulton recommended, and was charged with implementing the Report.

Reforming the Civil Service: the Fulton Report, 50 years on

9 June 2018 - 18:00 pm - 19:30 pm\n
Room 2.03, Bush House (South Wing), King's College London, Strand WC2R 1ES

The Report of the Committee on the Civil Service, commissioned by the Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson and chaired by Lord Fulton, appeared in June 1968. It was critical of the underlying philosophy of Whitehall, suggesting that the Civil Service operated as a \u201ccult\u201d of the generalist or amateur, that it lacked skilled managers, and overlooked scientists, engineers and other specialists for promotion. It made important recommendations for changes in the structure and practices of the Civil Service, some of which were implemented while others were not \u2013 and the themes it raised are still debated today.

This is a unique opportunity for historians and practitioners, past and present, to reflect together on how reform comes about in government and how it works - there will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion. Drinks and refreshments will be served. One of a series of Whitehall Anniversary events in 2018.

This event is the second in a 2018 series marking a number of anniversaries of key events in the history of the UK Civil Service, including also the Next Steps (1988) and Haldane (1918) Reports.