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Elena Întorsureanu

English in Administrative Settings

Part I

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Constitutional Issues ………………………………………….. 3 2. Central Government ………………………………………… 13 3. Local Government …………………………………………… 24 4. The Balance of Power ………………………………………... 36 5. Rule Making Procedures …………………………………….. 48 6. Civil Servants …………………………………………………. 58 7. The European Dimension ……………………………………. 69 Bibliography ……..……………………………………………….79

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UNIT 1 CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

Section A The Fundamental Law in the United Kingdom

There is a learned debate about whether Britain actually has a constitution. It clearly lacks one in a widely used sense of the term: there is no single comprehensive written code, or document, which sets out the rules affecting the relations between government institutions and between these institutions and citizens. On the other hand, it does have one in the sense that there is a body of laws, customs and conventions which define the composition and powers of organs of the State and regulate the relations of the various state organs to one another and to the private citizen. In other words, there are established procedures affecting the conduct of government and politics, and these are largely adhered to. Britain has for long been widely regarded as a country that illustrates the claim that it is not necessary to have a codified constitution to be a constitutional democracy. After all, Britain has been a stable democracy for over a century and scores relatively highly as a protector of civil liberties. Some commentators identify the term ‘constitutional’ with a system of formal checks and balances on the government and a separation of powers between government and other bodies. Expressions of dissatisfaction with the workings of the political system often broadened into a general concern about the health of British democracy and sometimes fuel demands for the adoption of a written constitution. In the past, the existence of a competitive two-party system, with its implicit checks and balances, independent groups sharing élite values and traditions, and a broad political consensus may have made constitutional safeguards seem unnecessary. Party competition, élite selfrestraint in the exercise of power, and a broad political consensus had provided some insurance against the abuse of power. But critics complain that these safeguards can no longer be taken for granted. There is a historical explanation why the British constitution is not codified in one document. Since the system had evolved over centuries there already existed established ways of conducting politics in Britain before written constitutions became fashionable. It is only in the last two hundred years or so starting with the United States, that written constitutions have spread. Most constitutions were originally adopted by states when they became independent or suffered a rupture in their evolution through internal collapse or invasion. In Britain, neither the system of government nor a formal set or rules has been adopted at one point in time. Instead there is a political system, or set of arrangements, and a style of politics that have evolved over centuries, rather than a constitution.

In a strict sense the British constitution is not unwritten, for large parts are documented. An outstanding feature is that its principles are not codified but dispersed – across statute

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law, common law, judges’ interpretations of these laws, and conventions – though texts and commentaries on the constitution do provide some integration. There are several sources of the constitution including: 1. Statute law, or law made by Parliament, which overrides common law and provides a substantial part of the constitution. It includes such measures as the Bill of Rights (1689), the Act of Union with Scotland (1707), successive Representation of the People Acts, and the Government of Ireland Act (1920). These laws are made and may be unmade by Act of Parliament, like any other. Even the provision that the House of Commons may not prolong its own life beyond a five-year span without the consent of the House of Lords may be changed by the normal legislative process. 2. Case law, or judges’ interpretations of statutes. Judges do not rule on the validity of a law, duly passed by Parliament, but they do have the right to decide whether it has been properly applied. By their interpretations the judges have an opportunity to shape the application of the law. 3. European community law, expressed in the European Communities Act to which Britain was a co-signatory in 1972, and subsequently amended by the Single European Act (1987) and the European Communities (Amendment) Act (1993), which gave effect to the Maastricht Treaty, now European Union law. British authorities are required to accept the rules and regulations of the treaties, commitments flowing from them, and future decisions taken by Community institutions. Community laws and regulations are made by the European Commission and the Council of Ministers, and the European Court of Justice declares which laws are self-executing. 4. Common law, for example, the traditional rights and liberties of subjects which have been handed down by precedents and upheld by the courts. 5. Conventions or rules which, though lacking the force of law, have been adhered to for so long that they are regarded as having a special authority. The conventions differ in their firmness. Firm ones include the expectation that Parliament will be called at least once a year, that the monarch will give her assent to legislation which has duly passed through the appropriate stages in the two Houses of Parliament, and that the Prime Minister and government will resign or dissolve Parliament following defeat on a confidence vote in the Commons. On the other hand, some recent political developments are matters of debate because no conventions have evolved. One can certainly envisage political situations in the future where lack of relevant precedents will create uncertainty about the appropriate course to follow. Adapted from British Politics, Dennis Kavanagh A.1. Reading Comprehension

Answer the following questions:

1. What is a constitution?

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2. What are the advantages of a written constitution?

3. Is it necessary for a state to have a codified constitution to be a constitutional

democracy?

4. What does the term ‘constitutional’ mean?

5. Were constitutional safeguards necessary in the past?

6. Why is the British Constitution not codified?

7. When were most constitutions adopted by states?

8. Which are the sources of the British Constitution?

9. What measures does statute law include?

10. In what way does European Community Law affect the UK?

A.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘There is but one law for all, namely, that law which governs all law, the law of our

Creator, the law of humanity, justice, equity – the law of nature, and of nations.’

Edmund Burke

A.3. Language Focus

A.3.1. The Simple Present Tense

There is a learned debate about whether Britain actually has a constitution. It clearly

lacks one in a widely used sense of the term …

Use 1. general truths

Law governs man, reason the law. 2. regular or habitual actions

We have a party meeting every Wednesday. 3. states

Alice works for a public company. 4. series of events

So I open the door, and I look into the office, and I see the secretary… 5. planned future actions

His train arrives at 12.00. 6. in temporal and conditional clauses

I’ll phone you when I get to the ministry. If we don’t come up with a brilliant stategy, we’ll have a negative vote.

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7. instead of the present continuous (with the verbs that cannot be used in the progressive form)

Do you hear me? Provide other illustrative contexts for each use of the tense.

A.3.2. The Present Continuous Tense

Use

1. actions happening now

We are revising the Present Continuous. 2. actions happening for a limited period at or near the present

Robert is spending a lot of time in the library these days, as he is writing a book on constitutional reform.

3. progressive change

The democratic process is growing stronger and stronger. 4. frequently repeated actions which annoy the speaker

They are complaining about the party leader all the time. 5. future actions

What are you doing tomorrow ?

Present Simple or Continuous ? Use the appropriate verbal form:

The principle of parliamentary sovereignty 1 .................... (be) perhaps the outstanding

feature of the British constitution, a feature which 2 .................... (render) the political

system unconstitutional in the eyes of some observers. Sovereignty, or the power to

make law, 3 .................... (be) exercised by the Queen, Lords, and Commons assembled.

An Act of Parliament 4 .................... (be) not constrained by any higher laws and no other

authority may rule on its constitutionality. This 5 .................... (mean) that, apart from the

case of European Law, the courts cannot set aside, but only interpret, statute law. Other

countries with written constitutions usually 6 .................... (have) a Supreme Court or

equivalent body which 7 .................... (be) authorized to decide whether the actions of a

government or legislature 8 .................... (be) in line with the Constitution.

A.3.3. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

The relation of university to constitution 1 .................... simple: it is the breeding ground

of tomorrow’s statesmen. 2 .................... if not all of our great orators have been born of

the debating halls of university, public school or Inns of Court. But not all students are 3

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.................... in public careers. Many spend their years at 4 .................... devoting

themselves to increasingly minute areas of specialization .

Most important of 5 .................... will be the ideas they have formed at university,

because 6 .................... will give birth to the public opinion of the future. The ideas

which 7 .................... our thinking today were first being discussed in our universities

twenty-five years 8 .................... . To know the future, discover the current ideas of

students. In a generation 9 .................... will govern society.

The constitution, embracing law, monarchy, government, church and university, 10

.................... a subtle and flexible thing. Its real essence 11 .................... in the heart of

man, in those intangible, magnificent qualities such 12 .................... truth, freedom and

justice, which are divine in origin.

A.3.4. Read the next paragraph, underline the wrong words and write in the correct

form. The first one has been done for you as an example:

The custom British view of their own constitution is 1. customary

essentially minimalist in character. It is a set from institutions, 2. ..................

procedures, rules and conventions. This has encouraged 3. ..................

an open-end and pragmatically view of constitutional 4. ..................

change, which has occasionally prompt even British 5. ..................

commentators to concede the difficulty of reconcile the 6. ..................

constitution with the normal logic of constitutionalism. 7. ..................

It is often alleged, that because of the absence of legal 8. ..................

criteria that distinguish constitutional law from other laws, 9. ..................

the definition becomes so broadly that it defined nothing 10. ..................

at all. But such problems rarely disturb the body politic. 11. ..................

Indeed, it has become almost part of the British constitutional 12. ..................

tradition that having acknowledging the constitution’s 13. ..................

unorthodox independence from fundamental frameworks of 14. ..................

organization and rights, it is customary to dismiss the deficiency 15. ..................

as be in any way significant. 16. ..................

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Section B Heir Style

There is a good case for changing the rules on royal succession

The British constitution, the Queen once shrewdly observed, ‘has always been puzzling and always will be.’ Aspects of it, however, are not merely perplexing but also irrational. The rules that surround the succession to the throne are among the most anachronistic and indefensible. Lord Dubs presented proposals yesterday which would provide for new and far more relevant arrangements. There will be a second reading debate on his Succession to the Crown Bill next month. It deserves a sympathetic hearing. There are three major aspects to the legislation. The first would end the pattern of male primogeniture that allows younger brothers to succeed before older sisters. The second would delete the part of the Act of Settlement 1701 that prohibits the heir to the throne marrying a Roman Catholic. The last would abolish the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, a law that requires senior royals to obtain the permission of the monarch to marry whom they wish or instead wait a year to do so, subject to the intervention of Parliament. There is not much to be said for any of these provisions. Male supremacy might have made some sense when the monarch was expected to lead troops into combat. There is no logic to this now (nor, for that matter, in discriminating against women in the succession of hereditary peers). If the past 52 years have not demonstrated that a woman is capable of acting as an accomplished head of state, then nothing will. This should be regarded as an overdue* and uncontroversial measure. The Act of Settlement is potentially difficult territory. In banning* Roman Catholics and those married to them from the throne, this law ultimately allowed George I to become king before 57 figures with a better blood claim to that title. While the monarch remains the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, it could be awkward if the person concerned were not Anglican. The Dubs scheme, though, does not challenge* this part of legislation. It simply deals with the absurdity that Prince William could marry a follower of any other religion bar* Catholicism, even a devout Satanist, without having to abandon his claim to the throne. In fact, strictly speaking, if a perspective consort converted to Protestantism on her wedding day and switched back a day later, the law would be satisfied. This is patently* a ridiculous situation. The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 is not much better. It was passed at the demotic insistence of George III who was outraged when two of his brothers wed* women he deemed* unsuitable (that one of these proved to be a very happy marriage did not appease* him). It is an entirely archaic requirement. The Dubs Bill is not likely to reach the statute book in this session of Parliament. It should, nonetheless, inspire an MP to introduce a Private Member’s Bill after the next general election and ministers should then back it. Besides being a worthwhile* reform in itself, it would be intriguing to see how any parliamentarian could publicly defend the present method of succession. The British constitution might always be puzzling. It should not take pride in being ostentatiously bonkers*. The Times, December 10, 2004

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B.1. Reading Comprehension

Are the following statements true or false?

1. Aspects of the British Constitution are irrational.

2. Lord Dubs presented proposals for improvement.

3. There are five major aspects of the Crown Bill to the legislation.

4. The Act of Settlement 1701 prohibits the heir to the throne marrying an

Anglican.

5. George I became king before 57 figures with a better blood claim to the title.

6. The monarch is the Supreme Governer of the Church of Great Britain.

7. The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 was passed at the insistence of George III.

8. The law requires senior royals to obtain the permission of the monarch to marry

whom they wish.

9. The Dubs Bill will reach the statute book in this session of Parliament.

10. The present method of succession should be maintained.

B.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘If you have a Royal Family you have to make the best of whatever personalities the

genetic lottery comes up with.’

Ben Pimlott, Independent, September 13, 1997

‘A king is an insult to every other man in the land.’

Andrew Carnegie

‘The monarch is a person and a symbol. He makes power and state both intelligible and

mysterious.’

Sir Ian Gilmour

‘The Sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy such as ours, three rights – the right

to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn.’

Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution

B 3. Language Focus

B.3.1. Choose the right explanation for each of the following words ( with asterisks in the

text):

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1. overdue A not completed B late C straightforward

2. to ban A to forbid B to maintain C to give

3. to challenge A to enforce B to dispute C to support

4. bar A with B except C on

5. patently A greatly B obviously C by far

6. to wed A to court B to marry C to choose

7. to deem A to see B to prove C to consider

8. to appease A to satisfy B to interest C to regard

9. worthwhile A important B good C revolutionary

10. bonkers A unique B unreasonable C simple

B.3.2. Give the full versions of the following abbreviations:

1. AD

2. FO

3. GBH

4. JP

5. MEP

6. QC

7. v.

8. i.e.

9. L/C

10. PD

B.3.3. Fill in the blanks in the following text with an appropriate term from the list

bellow:

lieutenant-governor usually administration faith institution

represented God advice realms head

The Monarchy is the oldest 1 .................... of government. The Queen’s title in the UK is

‘Elisabeth the Second, by the Grace of 2 .................... of the United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other 3 .................... and Territories Queen, Head

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of the Commonwealth, Defender of the 4 .................... ’. In the Channel Islands and the

Isle of Man she is represented by a 5 .................... .

In addition to being queen of the United Kingdom, the Queen is also 6 .................... of

state of 15 other realms and Head of the Commonwealth. In each country where she is

Head of State, she is 7 .................... by a Governor-General, appointed by her on the 8

.................... of the ministers of the country concerned and independent of the UK

government.

In the Overseas Territories the Queen is 9 .................... represented by governors who are

responsible to the UK Government for the 10 .................... of the countries in which they

serve.

Section C Translation

C.1. Translate into Romanian:

The ‘politics of the British constitution’ is a conspicuously unorthodox phrase in the British political system. Political activity in the United Kingdom is normally conceived as being unerringly accommodated within the structures and processes of a settled constitutional order. Just as British political life is widely seen as a phenomenon occurring in, or through, a distinctive pattern of constitutional forms, so the constitution itself is interpreted primarily as a medium of political exchange, even to the extent of equating political capability with constitutional legitimacy. Constitutionalism in the British system, therefore, is often reduced to the notion of a constitution of British politics – i.e. a summation of political experience expressed through forms, processes, traditions and developments, and substantiated by longevity, continuity, assimilation and adaptation. It is because of this instinctive conviction in the spontaneous existence of a determinable constitution, and in the trustworthiness of a political class in maintaining the constitution’s operational integrity, that politics has traditionally not been translated into constitutional dispute. Just as the term ‘unconstitutionality’ has little meaning in British politics, so the idea of a genuine politics of the British constitution has remained a thoroughly unconventional precept in a system of governance characterized by convention. Far from a politics of the constitution, the British system has traditionally been characterized as one in which the constitution is simply assumed to exist as a self-evident entity. In fact, it is the very absence of a developed form of constitutional dispute and speculation that is seen as symptomatic of a living constitution. The British constitution, therefore, is a presumptive construction. Its notoriety as an unwritten, unassembled and imprecise collage of discrete parts is turned into a virtue of collective experience and consensual expression. Only a mature and effectively functioning political community could operate and maintain such an ethereal set of rules. The constitution evokes a basic

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political settlement rather than embodies one in any documented frame of reference. In this way, a circular type of constitutional culture is fostered in Britain. Just as the constitution is assumed to exist from the presupposition of a basic political settlement and the presence of a political community, so the latter are taken as read from a constitution that could only remain operational with the benign support and mutual trust of just such a settled community.

The Politics of the British Constitution, Michael Foley

C.2. Translate into English:

Statul român

Articolul 1

(1) România este stat naţional, suveran şi independent, unitar şi indivizibil. (2) Forma de guvernământ a statului român este republica. (3) România este stat de drept, democratic şi social, în care demnitatea omului, drepturile şi libertăţile cetăţenilor, libera dezvoltare a personalităţii umane, dreptatea şi pluralismul politic reprezintă valori supreme, în spiritul tradiţiilor democratice ale poporului român şi idealurilor Revoluţiei din decembrie 1989, şi sunt garantate. (4) Statul se organizează potrivit principiului separaţiei şi echilibrului puterilor – legislativă, executivă şi judecătorească – în cadrul democraţiei constituţionale. (5) În România, respectarea Constituţiei, a supremaţiei sale şi a legilor este obligatorie. Suveranitatea

Articolul 2 (1) Suveranitatea naţională aparţine poporului român, care o exercită prin organele sale reprezentative, constituite prin alegeri libere, periodice şi corecte, precum şi prin referendum. (2) Nici un grup şi nici o persoană nu pot exercita suveranitatea în nume propriu. Constituţia României 2003 Section D Writing

Comment on:

‘Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonius reverence and deem them like the ark

of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a

wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment … Laws

and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind … As new

discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change …

institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times.’

Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Samuel Kercheval

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UNIT 2 CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

Section A The Role of the Cabinet

Although British government is often termed ‘Cabinet government’, the Cabinet is actually a committee of the government. The close association of the Cabinet and government reflects the fact that the sovereignty of the Crown in Parliament has been vested in the Cabinet. Reference to the British executive may include the government departments or ministries, the senior ranks of the Civil Service, the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Prime Minister’s private office, or ministers. Collectively these are sometimes called ‘the core executive’.

The fact that the Cabinet is a collective body and most of its members are ministers with departmental responsibilities gives it a dual focus. The Cabinet and its members fuse political and executive functions. Its combination of political and executive work may be considered under four headings. 1. It is the body in which many of the most important political decisions are taken or to

which they are reported. This is true of a decision to go to war, approve a policy line on education or something else, and settle the total figure for public spending. Some decisions – such as whether the President of the USA should address a joint gathering of the two Houses of Parliament – may seem trivial, but they will be considered at Cabinet level because of their potential political sensitivity. According to Lord Wackeham, who served in Cabinet under Mrs Thatcher and John Major, Cabinet is ‘a reporting and reviewing body rather than a decision-taker’. (1994). 2. It plans the business of Parliament, approving the details and timing of legislation which is to be laid before Parliament. Such planning is subject to the opposition`s rights to Supply Days and to propose motions of censure, and to the rights of private members. Most Cabinet ministers sit in the Commons and ministers determine much of the work of Parliament by preparing major bills, establishing its agenda, and organizing opinion and votes to get the legislation passed. 3. It may be the arbiter of policy differences between departments, for example, for disagreements which cannot be resolved in bilateral negotiations or in Cabinet committee. Ministers would also expect to be a party to sensitive decisions which affect the responsibility of the government as a whole. 4. It is the body which provides a general oversight and coordination of the government’s

policies.

It is often argued that this last role is not well performed, largely because the pressures of departmental work prevent Cabinet ministers from considering policies of other

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departments and overall strategy. Some of the institutional changes in recent years have been an acknowledgement of this weakness and an attempt to rectify it. Most Cabinet ministers head major departments whose interests they represent in Cabinet. They wear a departmental as well as a Cabinet hat. Some ministers, like the Prime Minister, or such non-departmental ministers as Leader of the House or Lord President of the Council have the opportunity to take a view which transcends departments. Their own responsibilities or their membership of many inter-departmental committees bring them into contact with other departments. But a contrary pressure works on many other ministers. The reputation of the typical minister with his civil servants, constituency of pressure groups, specialist media reporters, and subject committee of back-bench MPs depends on his doing a good job for his particular department, which often turns on increasing its budget. The Cabinet’s political authority derives from having the support of a majority of members of the House of Commons. It is not independent of the Commons but represents a fusion of the executive and legislature, a contrast to the United States, where the separation of powers precludes Cabinet officers from being members of Congress. The rise of one party majority government has weakened the ability of the Commons as a body to check the Cabinet. Membership of the same political party also helps to unify Cabinet members; their short-term survival is bound up with that of the party. As elected politicians they are well qualified to make political assessments of the impact of policies on the House of Commons, party, and electorate. In the post-war period only a handful of Cabinet ministers have not had prior experience in the House of Commons, and they have not been very successful. In contrast, the President of the United States may appoint to the Cabinet people from other parties or from none. He may even draw on people who have never stood for election or who are hardly known to him. At the end of the day an American Cabinet is responsible to the President, not to Congress. In normal circumstances the Cabinet has been meeting for about two hours each Thursday when Parliament is sitting, although it can be summoned at any time with pressing issues. Under Blair it meets for about an hour. The proceedings of Cabinet are business-like and even formal. The agenda and papers are circulated in advance and minutes are kept. Remarks are addressed to the Prime Minister and ministers have until recently been referred to by their titles. Blair introduced the use of Christian names. The seating of ministers is arranged hierarchically, with the Cabinet secretary on the Prime Minister’s immediate right and holders of the senior posts seated on the Prime Minister’s left or across the table. Ministers have frequently paid tribute to the serious atmosphere of Cabinet deliberations. There are informal rules governing the intervention of speakers, with precedence granted to a senior minister or ministers with departmental interests in the item under discussion. Votes are rare. They advertise Cabinet divisions, fail to register the political weight and strength of feeling of individual ministers, and limit the Prime Ministers ability to formulate the ‘sense of the meeting’. Voting, particularly if it is along factional lines, may also weaken the Cabinet’s collective sense.

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The Cabinet’s proceedings are supposed to be secret; all members take a Privy Councillor’s oath of secrecy and sign the Official Secrets Act. The agenda and the subsequent minutes, though circulated, also remain secret. When there is a change of government, only a record of the decisions remains on the departmental files, and other material, including discussion papers, is withdrawn. A Cabinet is also a political body, and therefore beset by divisions and rivalries. Some divisions are fairly predictable, in terms of spending ministers versus the Treasury, or spending ministers against each other in the battle for fixed resources, or political differences between left and right in a Labour Cabinet. Ministers also differ in their influence. A Prime Minister will give special consideration to some ministers’ views because of their personal standing with the party or the public or because of their office. Some ministers may contribute decisively on matters outside their departmental business, and on matters of general strategy. A Chancellor of the Exchequer, in particular, is well placed to intervene on most items. Most ministers, however, usually keep to their departmental business.

Adapted from British Politics, Dennis Kavanaugh

A.1. Reading Comprehension

Answer the following questions :

1. What does ‘the core executive’ refer to?

2. Which are the functions of the Cabinet?

3. What gives the Cabinet political authority?

4. How is the British system different from the American one?

5. What must the Prime Minister take into consideration when choosing the Cabinet?

6. How many members does a Cabinet usually have?

7. When does the Cabinet meet?

8. What is the nature of the Cabinet’s proceedings?

9. How is voting perceived?

10. In what way does the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer differ from the other

ones?

A.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon :

‘Open government is a contradiction in terms, you can be open – or you can have

government.’ Jonathan Lynn, Anthony Jay – Yes Prime Minister

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A.3. Language Focus

A.3.1. The Participle

The Cabinet has been meeting for about two hours each Thursday when Parliament is

sitting although it can be summoned at any time …

1. in verb forms

- present and past participles are used to make progressive, perfect and passive verb forms :

She is reading the minister’s comments. He has announced the arrival of the Prime Minister. You will be told if the board takes a decision.

2. as adjectives

- present participles describe an action still happening They came with burning flags before the Senate’s building.

- past participles describe the result of an action that has happened One of the office’s windows was broken.

3. in participle clauses

- they are often used to describe two actions that happen a. at the same time

She sat by the fire reading a book. b. one after the other

Opening his suitcase, he took out his notebook. - if one action has finished before the other begins, the perfect participle is used Having finished the draft, the committee left the room. c. one because of another

Not knowing what else to do, she waited patiently.

Underline all the participles in the following text and identify their use :

No one should be surprised at the appalling consequence of the Government’s short-

sighted and ill-considered decision to drop languages as a compulsory subject at GSCE.

In the past year, three quarters of comprehensives have scrapped languages as an exam

requirement, with a 72 per cent drop in the number studying French and a 70 per cent fall

for German. In the poorest areas, the fall has been even more precipitous: 82 per cent of

comprehensives in working-class areas reported that languages have been made optional

after the age of 14. This is unwelcome news, and comes at the very time when Britain’s

economy, politics, culture, and way of life are more closely linked to mainland Europe –

and the global economy – than at any other period in history.

It is particularly odd that a Prime Minister with a personal aptitude for foreign languages

should be content to hear the sound of silence. There should be direct intervention by

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Downing-Street to look again at this policy. For in whatever language you might speak,

this is a bad decision.

A.3.2. The word assessment in the text is made up of the verb to assess and the ending

-ment. Nouns formed in this way refer to the process of making or doing something, or to

the result of this process.

Use the definitions to find words constructed in a similar way :

1. successful completion a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. act of accepting the truth a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3. task or duty given to sb a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

4. success in reaching a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

5. pledge, undertaking c_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

6. new stage or event d_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

7. thing depended on or needed r_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8. arrangement, promise or contract made with sb a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

9. statement that makes sth known a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

10. discussion based on reasoning a_ _ _ _ _ _ _

A.3.3. Match the words below to their definitions using the following grid :

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. body a. government department

2. policy b. plan of action

3. committee c. group of people working or acting as a unit

4. ministry d. group of people appointed to deal with sth

5. gathering e. meeting

6. minister f. person at the head of a government department

7. bill g. formal proposal to be voted at a meeting

8. motion h. draft of a proposed law

9. agenda i. right to come before sb/sth

10. precedence j. matter of business to be discussed at a meeting

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A.3.4. Fill in the blanks in the following text with an appropriate term from the list :

confidence opinion ministers feature term

its linked support on for

The 1 .................... ‘responsible government’ has different usages; for example, the

government is responsive to public 2 .................... , is prudent to the exercise of 3

.................... duties, or is answerable to Parliament. This latter is the most important

practical constitutional 4 .................... . The idea of responsible government is 5

.................... to two important constitutional conventions: (1) the individual responsibility

of 6 .................... to Parliament for the conduct of their departments, and (2) the

collective responsibility of the Cabinet 7 .................... the conduct of the policies. If the

Cabinet loses the 8 .................... of the Commons, expressed in a vote 9 .................... an

important measure or a motion of 10 .................... , it is expected either to resign or to

dissolve the Parliament.

Section B Hunted Down

A lamentable failure of leadership from the Prime Minister

Oscar Wilde memorably dismissed fox hunting as ‘the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable’. The parliamentary campaign to ban what a minority are entitled to regard as part of their way of life, has, though, been a case of the implacable in full pursuit of the illogical. Hundreds of hours of parliamentary time have been wasted, many more hundreds of hours of courtroom time lie ahead and perhaps thousands of hours of police time might be consumed if and when this measure is implemented*. It has been a ludicrous spectacle politically and utterly divisive socially. Nothing positive will come of it. This has been an episode of parliamentary madness. It also reflects especially badly on the Prime Minister. On Tuesday night he finally chose to cast a vote in the House of Commons on this question. He opted to back the compromise option, namely allowing hunting to continue but under a strict system of licence and regulation. He did so on the basis that it was ‘in the best interests of the country’. He could not, however, inspire many government colleagues to join him. A reasonable proposal went down by a 117-vote margin. Tony Blair can only blame himself for this outcome*. If the ‘middle way’, which he has come round to supporting publicly, is in the best interests of the country now, it surely must have been so for the past seven years. Yet Mr Blair has consistently failed to declare his hand, signalling a distaste for the hunting ban through nods and winks, newspaper leaks and by proxy, courtesy of supporters sent out to be shot politically on

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behalf of their master. He has continually deluded* himself that something, almost anything might eventually turn up to relieve* him of this issue. Now he has been hunted down by Labour MPs as a consequence of his own indecision. Mr Blair might hope that his belated* vote will be taken as a conciliatory gesture. It will not. If anything, the Prime Minister has left himself in the worst of all worlds. Labour MPs and party activists will be irritated that his previous claims to favour an outright* ban were insincere, while those who aspire to continue their pastime* have no reason to thank a man who could have blocked this illiberal measure at an earlier stage in the proceedings, but conspicuously* declined to do so. The broader impression left is that of a paradoxical prime minister. Mr Blair has shown admirable courage in foreign affairs – not just in Iraq, but on Kosovo and Sierra Leone as well. Yet he has been incapable of mobilizing the moderate and rational wing of his party through leadership on the infinitely less awkward matter of the precise methods by which the fox population is kept within sensible* numbers. Tough restrictions on foxhunting are appropriate. A total ban is excessive. This should not, nevertheless, be an excuse for those who have lost in the House of Commons to engage in antiparliamentary militancy. There will be an opportunity for them to challenge both the legality of the Parliament Act 1949 and to explore whether the Human Rights Act offers them succour*. They should do so patiently and in a measured tone and not suggest that they believe the law of the land – if that is what the ban becomes incorporated within – is a thing that they are entitled to approach à la carte. Responsibility must be the order of the hour. It is an immense pity that Mr Blair himself did not act responsibly when it really would have counted. The Times, November 18, 2004

B.1 Reading Comprehension

Complete the following statements:

1. Oscar Wilde described fox hunting as .............................. .

2. The parliamentary campaign to ban fox hunting required .............................. .

3. This episode reflects especially badly on .............................. .

4. The Prime Minister opted to .............................. .

5. Tony Blair was not able .............................. .

6. .............................. went down by a 117-vote margin.

7. The ‘middle way’ is in the best interest of .............................. .

8. .............................. has consistently failed to declare his hand.

9. Tough restrictions on fox hunting .............................. .

10. Responsibility must be .............................. .

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B. 2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘ The democratic principle of public governance sets out tremendous expectations of, and

responsibilities for, those who held high elected office. Theirs is a responsibility to

provide both leadership and vision, a role for which, in some cases, they may be said to

be unprepared. ’

Eileen Milner, Managing Information in the Public Sector

B.3. Language Focus

B.3.1. Choose the right explanation for each of the following words (with asterisks in the

text):

1. to implement A to carry out B to pass C to discuss

2. outcome A situation B result C decision

3. to delude A to encourage B to deceive C to hope

4. to relieve A to connect B to take away C to liberate

5. belated A very late B determined C hurried

6. outright A complete B partial C monitored

7. pastime A trivial occupation B pleasant activity C meaningless pursuit

8. conspicuously A noticeably B frankly C readily

9. sensible A short B reasonable C soft

10. succour A acknowledgement B solution C support

B.3.2. Phrasal verbs TURN

Something might eventually turn up to relieve him of this issue.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate missing item. Choose from:

against down round back on in away over out to

1. The project must go ahead. There can be no turning .................... .

2. The representative turned .................... the party leader when he saw the former’s

hesitating attitude.

3. Hundreds of people had to be turned .................... from the square as the march

threatened to become a violent one.

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4. He tried to join the army but was turned .................... flat because of poor health.

5. How could he turn .................... and vote against the proposal when all his colleagues

voted for it?

6. The job was damaging his health so he had to turn it .................... .

7. The discussion turned .................... the need for better public health care.

8. The faculty has turned .................... some first-rate scholars.

9. Customs officials turned the man .................... to the police.

10. The party members turned .................... and had the whole project proposal finished

in one afternoon.

B.3.3. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

The responsibility of choosing the Prime Minister and other government ministers 1

.................... to the monarch. However, in 2 .................... , the Queen must choose the

leader of the party which has the majority in the 3 .................... of Commons. It is the

electorate 4 .................... decide which the largest party will be, and the members of the

party who select their leader, and so the Queen’s 5 .................... of choice is extremely

limited. Once a Prime Minister has been 6 .................... it is he or she who chooses the

members of the 7 ...................., and these men and women are then presented to the

Queen as ‘her’ ministers.

8 .................... is certain is that the monarch cannot ask a politician without parliamentary

support to become Prime Minister, as such a person is not able to form a government, and

it is not possible to be a Prime Minister 9 .................... an administration. In theory, the

Queen could 10 .................... a member of the House of Lords to form a Government

made up of the Lords, but in practice, it is no 11 .................... considered acceptable for a

Prime Minister to sit in the Lords, and any such action would lead to an enormous outcry

and would probably 12 .................... the position of the monarch irreparably.

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Section C Translation

C.1. Translate into Romanian:

The British system of government is the product of centuries of development that has followed no precise pattern or rigid lines, but rather a course of trial and error. This has at times led to passionate disagreements and bitter feuds, and on some occasions to open conflict. As Britain has no written constitution and relies on a mixture of statute law, common law and conventions (that is, practices and precepts that although not part of a legal code are nevertheless generally accepted), the system of government has remained flexible. Sometimes the system has appeared to be too flexible and different interpretations of the role of certain institutions have been possible at different periods of time. Thus one will find no exact definition of the duties and powers of the British Head of State, beyond the fact that Britain is a monarchy. In theory the monarch’s powers appear to be as absolute as they were during the Middle Ages, but in practice this power is restricted in a number of ways. The system of government that exists in Britain today can perhaps be best described as a mixed governmental system, with the monarch seeming to be, and Parliament in fact being, the senior partner. The monarchy is hereditary, and so when a king or queen dies he or she is automatically succeeded by the next in line. Membership of the House of Lords is largely hereditary, too, although there are also various categories of life peers. The lower house, the House of Commons, is however elected by the British people, and thus represents, or is claimed to represent, their wishes. Over the centuries the Crown and the Lords, that is the hereditary elements of the system, have gradually lost power to the Commons, the representatives of the people. Modern Britain, John Irwin

C.2. Translate into English:

Rolul şi funcţiile Guvernului

Art. 1. – (1) Guvernul este autoritatea publică a puterii executive, care funcţionează în baza votului de încredere acordat de Parlament şi care asigură realizarea politicii interne şi externe a ţării şi exercită conducerea generală a administraţiei publice. (2) Guvernul are rolul de a asigura funcţionarea echilibrată şi dezvoltarea sistemului naţional economic şi social, precum şi racordarea acestuia la sistemul economic mondial în condiţiile promovării intereselor naţionale. (3) Guvernul se organizează şi funcţionează în conformitate cu prevederile constituţionale, avănd la bază Programul de guvernare acceptat de Parlament. (4) Numirea Guvernului se face de Preşedintele României pe baza votului de încredere acordat Guvernului de Parlament. (5) Pentru realizarea Programului de guvernare Guvernul exercită următoarele funcţii: a) funcţia de strategie, prin care se asigură elaborarea strategiei de punere în aplicare a Programului de guvernare; b) funcţia de reglementare, prin care se asigură elaborarea cadrului normativ şi instituţional necesar în vederea realizării obiectivelor strategice;

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c) funcţia de administrare a proprietăţii statului, prin care se asigură administrarea proprietăţii publice şi private a statului, precum şi gestionarea serviciilor pentru care statul este responsabil; d) funcţia de reprezentare, prin care se asigură, în numele statului român, reprezentarea pe plan intern şi extern; e) funcţia de autoritate de stat, prin care se asigură urmărirea şi controlul aplicării respectării reglementărilor în domeniul apărării, ordinii publice şi siguranţei naţionale, precum şi în domeniile economic şi social şi al funcţionării instituţiilor şi organismelor care îşi desfăşoară activitatea în subordinea sau sub autoritatea Guvernului. Legea nr. 90/2001 privind organizarea şi funcţionarea Guvernului României şi a

ministerelor

Section D Writing

Comment on:

‘To grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership not only on

the movie set where I learned it, but everywhere.’

Ronald Reagan

‘The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.’

Tony Blair in Mail on Sunday, October 2, 1999

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UNIT 3 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Section A What Local Government Is

The governance of modern society is an enormous task. In Great Britain half of the nation’s annual income flows through the hands of the government, and some 20 per cent of the labour force are employed in the state sector. Government is, therefore, a big and complex business. For this reason most countries find it necessary to decentralize their administration, in other words to arrange for services to be provided and decisions to be made away from the centre or capital and ‘in the field’ or locally. Such decentralization can take a number of forms. The simplest is known as deconcentration, whereby the officers of the central government (the civil servants) are dispersed into local and regional offices such as the local tax or benefits office. Another simple form is functional decentralization, in which a particular service or function is hived off from the central government to a semi-independent-organization commonly referred to as ‘quango’ (quasi-autonomous non governmental organization). Among their estimated 5,000, examples include the Post Office, The Arts Council, the British Council, the Gaming Board, the Housing Corporation, The Rural Development Commission, NHS Trusts, the Higher Education Funding Council and Police Authorities. Regional devolution (or regionalism) is more complex and involves the limited transfer by the central government of political and administrative authority to a regional body, such as the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly and their executives. Local government is an examle of such devolution, but on a more local basis. Local government is self-government involving the administration of public affairs in each locality by a body of elected representatives of the local community known as the local authority (or council). Although subject to the central government in many ways, local authorities possess a considerable amount of responsibility and discretionary power. Local government, then, is one of a number of forms of decentralization. This helps to explain why it can be so confusing: it resembles so many other administrative structures to be found in the modern state – ministries, departments, authorities, boards, corporations, agencies, bureaux, councils and so on. Consequently it is not surprising that many people mistakenly believe, for example, that local authorities run the hospitals (which are actually the responsibility of appointed Health Authorities or self-governing trusts) or think that social workers are paid by the Minister responsible for social services (in fact they are employed by the local authorities, who pay their salaries out of the rates and council tax). The situation has become much more diffuse in recent years. Consequently, the concept of local governance has emerged to reflect the fact that local areas are governed by a range of bodies, not just the ‘local authority’ or the ‘council’. There are, however, a number of characteristics which mark out local government as a distinctive form of public administration. Thus local government is elected. Although

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some areas (parishes and communities) are small enough to need only a simple meeting of the local people, most local authorities consist of representatives chosen by the members of the community at properly constituted elections. These elected members form the local ‘council’, which then recruits the full-time paid staff of the authority, including engineers, accountants, teachers, clerks and bin-men. These employees resemble the State’s civil servants and are organized at the town hall or county hall into departments such as the Education Department, the Housing Department or the Social Services Department. It follows that local government is multi-purpose: every local authority has many jobs to do and a variety of services to provide. An individual local authority may be responsible for the provision of schools, homes for the elderly and training centres for the disabled; fire services; road building and maintenance, and traffic management; and the control of the environment through the regulation of building and land development. By contrast, the ‘quangos’ and public corporations tend to be concerned with just one particular service or field of activity, such as health (the Health Authorities, the Food Standards Agency), culture (the Arts Council, the BBC) or racial discrimination (the Commission for Racial Equality). The third feature of local government is the local scale of its operations: each authority has responsibility in its area only. Some of these areas (the parishes and communities) are very local in scale. But most of the more important authorities operate over the area of a county or over a small or large district (within or between counties). Fourthly, local government has a quite clearly defined structure. This consists of either two tiers (made up of 34 large county councils plus 238 smaller district councils), or 169 single-tier councils. These all constitute the ‘principal’ local authorities. In addition, many parts of the country have parishes or communities making up a modest third tier. The next feature of local government is that it is subordinated to the national authority, which is Parliament. Local authorities come into existence as a result of legislation passed by Parliament, and all such authorities are subject to the law. If a local authority steps outside the law (for example by failing to do something which the law requires it to do, such as not providing schools) it will be liable to the rigours and sanctions of the law in the same way as private people are. Parliament alone has sovereignty: local authorities exercise power to the extent that Acts of Parliament allow (though Britain’s membership of the Europen Union now places some limits on the power of the UK Parliament). Although local authorities carry out those responsibilities handed on to them by Parliament, it is misleading to see them simply as agents acting for the central government in the administration of certain services. While subject to certain controls operated by the central government, the local authorities work in partnership with it, and they possess a freedom and initiative which justifies their being described as bodies exercising self-government.

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Enabling them to do this, and the last important feature of local government, is the local

tax system, comprising a local council tax on residents and a rate (or property tax) on businesses. Locally determined taxes (in the form of ‘rates’) have been collected by local authorities for centuries. Although local taxation has not been the chief source of local government incomes in recent years, it is still important and provides local authorities with some degree of independence and flexibilitty. Local Government in Britain, Tony Byrne

A.1. Reading Comprehension:

Answer the following questions:

1. Why is decentralization necessary?

2. What is a ‘quango’?

3. What does regional devolution involve?

4. Does local government have complete discretionary power?

5. What does the concept of ‘local governance’ reflect?

6. Who forms the local council?

7. What is the purpose of local government?

8. What is the structure of local government?

9. What is the relationship between local government and Parliament?

10. What does the local tax system comprise?

A.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘Nowhere has democracy ever worked well without a great measure of local self-

government ... Where the scope of the political measures becomes so large that the

necessary knowledge is almost exclusively possessed by the bureaucracy, the creative

impulses of the private person must flag.’

Tony Byrne, Local Government in Britain

A.3. Language Focus

A.3.1. CAN; COULD

Decentralization can take a number of forms.

Use 1. to express ability

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I can read Italian, but I can’t speak it. They could have helped the people in the region but they didn’t.

- be able to can often be used with similar meanings 2. to express possibility and probability

I don’t think that the tax problem can be solved. It can’t be true that the government will come forward with new laws on property.

3. interpersonal uses permission

Can I ask you something? offers

Can I help you with those files? requests

Could you lend me your notes until tomorrow?

mild commands When you’ve finished printing those documents, you can write these letters.

suggestions

If you haven’t got anything to do you could sort out these papers. criticism

You could ask before you borrow my phone. 4. to form the progressive

- it is used with verbs that are not normally used in the continuous e.g. perception verbs: see, hear, taste ...

Can you hear somebody coming up the stairs?

Complete the following sentences using can, could or be able to:

1. The public domain .............................. .

2. If the minister came a little earlier, .............................. .

3. .............................. if we had a complaint about a civil servant.

4. Administrative authorities ........................................ .

5. .............................. when you arrived at the office.

6. Only the MP responsible for this area .............................. .

7. Local govenment .............................. .

8. Elections .............................. .

9. .............................. only after your licence has been issued.

10. .............................. if the secretary had been present.

A.3.2. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

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Local government is 1 .................... as an efficient method of administering certain

sevices. This efficiency is explained on one or more of the following 2 .................... : (a)

local authorities consist of 3 .................... who are drawn from the local populace and

who therefore have 4 .................... knowledge or sensitivity and a commitment and

responsiveness 5 .................... the local area and its people; 6 .................... specifically

local focus makes for effective mediation on the different and conflicting interests

(planning, traffic, school closure etc.) 7 .................... the community; (b) local authorities

are multi-purpose bodies and 8 .................... therefore secure a greater degree of

coordination and policy integration: for 9 .................... , since the same council may be

responsible for planning, roads and housing, the liaison 10 .................... these different

services and deparments is easier and closer; (c) public administration generally benefits

11 .................... the existence of local authorities because they off-load responsibilities

from 12 .................... government departments and the civil 13 .................... , who would

14 .................... be overburdened with work.

A.3.3. Complete the following table with the corresponding verb(s), noun(s) or

adjective(s) where appropriate:

Noun Verb Adjective

governance

executive

employ

devolution

administrative

resemble

provision

functional

elect

authority

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A.3.4. Choose the word A, B or C which best completes each sentence:

1. ‘Quangos’ are independent agencies .................... to perform some service or to

administer a public sector activity.

A set up B devised C made

2. Many combine several roles and are .................... difficult to classify.

A since B therefore C so

3. Most of the boards or managing committees are .................... either by the Prime

Minister or a Minister.

A given B decided C appointed

4. They are given a general responsibility .................... in either a charter or a statute.

A written B defined C rendered

5. The staff of these bodies are not .................... servants as such, but they are public

sector employees.

A. civil B public C official

6. Nevertheless, the ultimate political responsibility .................... with the government

Minister.

A stays B rests C comes

7. Quangos are given considerable freedom so as to keep politics .................... their day-

to-day operations.

A out of B from C off

8. Elected self government has been .................... by non elected specialised bodies.

A reformed B changed C superseded

9. Local government implies the predominance of governmental activity .................... by

elected local councils.

A undertaken B decided C chosen

10. Local governance means greater plurality of provision and control, .................... local

authorities, government departments, private and voluntary bodies, joint ventures

and quangos.

A. from B via C with

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Section B Career Opportunities

B.1.1. Read the following advertisements and choose the position that appeals to you

most giving arguments for your choice:

Head of International Education (Government Partnerships)

£43,480 - £56,286

Ref: CL325

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B.1.2. Read the following nine rules written by a managing director and put down your

own rules for a successful working environment:

Lessons I Have Learnt

Nabila Sadiq, managing director of Joslin Rowe Temporaries and former Asian

Businesswoman of the Year

1. Dress for success. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to look smart and dress

appropriately at all times.

2. Body language. A firm handshake and eye contact reflects confidence and ensures that

your audience will take you seriously. It is important that people are aware of their body

language and don’t fidget.

3. Make time for people. It is very easy to become caught up in your own workload.

Ensure that your staff know that you are available to provide help, advice and coaching

when it is needed.

4. Be a strong leader. Always provide your staff with a clear direction. If you fail to give

your staff the guidance that they require, they will not be able to complement your

performance, and in the long term they will hold you back.

5. Allow individuals to make mistakes. Mistakes give people the opportunity to improve

and develop from their experiences.

6. Don’t allow personal relationships to affect your judgement. Treat everybody equally;

don’t allow personal friendships to cloud your judgement.

7. Listen to other people’s opinions. There are different ways of looking at any given

situation and people deserve to have their opinions heard.

8. Work hard. Success is never easily achieved, I have yet to come across anyone who

has become successful without putting in hard work and long hours when necessary.

9. Smile. A sense of humour always helps.

The Times, December 9, 2004

B.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘In order to value people, companies must move beyond the notion of human resources

and toward the notion of human capital. The very term resource (from the Latin

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resurgere, to rise again) implies an available supply that can be drawn upon when

needed. ... But are people a resource in this sense? Or are they more like a form of capital

– something that gains or loses value depending upon how much we invest in it?’

Eileen Milner, Managing Information in the Public Sector

B.3. Language Focus

Complete each of the following sentences with one suitable phrase, making all the

necessary changes . Choose from the following:

to work one’s way all in a day’s work the work of a few moments

to set to work to work to rule to make light work to work one’s notes up into

to be in/out of work to have one’s work cut out good works

1. If you want to finish until 3 pm you have .................... .

2. She has been involved in all kind of charity organisations for he last 5 years. Doing

.................... seems to be a priority in her life.

3. Talking to clients is.................... for a lawyer.

4. They .................... of filling all those papers. They needed only a few hours.

5. He was looking forward to ................... again. .................... for a year really got him

down.

6. It was ................... to hide the damage.

7. You’ll .................... getting there by nine o’clock.

8. I .................... a dissertation.

9. As the manager refused to listen to their complaints, the employees threatened

.................... .

10. The board .................... still ..................... through the application forms.

Section C Translation

C.1. Translate into Romanian:

The rise of local government is closely tied to the process of industrialisation which gathered momentum in Britain from the middle of the eighteenth century. The movement of population from rural to urban areas was accompanied by severe problems of overcrowding, law and order, and ill-health. The immediate response to this was the

34

creation of a series of ad hoc, single purpose bodies which included poor law boards, turnpike trusts and boards of improvement commissioners. The powers of the improvement commissioners varied but often included responsibility for paving, cleansing, the lighting of streets and the provision of watchmen. These ad hoc responses were viewed by many as inadequate in administrative terms. Moreover, the ad hoc bodies operated alongside a system of local government institutions effectively controlled by Tory squires and traditional landowning interests. The prosperous entrepreneurs that increasingly dominated the expanding towns and cities resented their lack of control over the full range of civic affairs. In response to these pressures there were created elected municipal councils. The creation of these municipal boroughs or corporations in many towns and cities is widely viewed as the beginning of the British modern system of local goverment.The municipal boroughs shared key characteristics of modern local authorities in that they were responsible for a range of functions and directly elected. The functions of these municipal boroughs were, of course, very different to those of modern local authorities and the franchise was limited to male rate-payers of more than three years’ residence. Crucially, however, the principle of local self-government had been established. The middle years of the nineteenth century witnessed a continued concern with the consequences of industrialisation and urbanisation. Various legislative measures gave additional or new responsibiliy for public health, highways, housing, poor relief and education to the institutions of local government. The municipal boroughs took some of the powers, as did the long established and unelected county and parish agencies in rural areas. There was also a substantial proliferation of ad hoc bodies. The result was a very complex local government system with a range of agencies, all, perhaps, able to raise a rate and with overlapping boundaries. The Politics of Local Government, Gerry Stoker

C.2. Translate into English:

Art. 2. – (1) Administraţia publică în unităţile administrativ-teritoriale se organizează şi funcţionează în temeiul principiilor autonomiei locale, descentralizării serviciilor publice, eligibilităţii autorităţilor administraţiei publice locale, legalităţii şi al consultării cetăţenilor în soluţionarea problemelor locale de interes deosebit. (2) Aplicarea principiilor prevăzute la alin. (1) nu poate aduce atingere caracterului de stat naţional, unitar şi indivizibil al României. Art. 3. – (1) Prin autonomie locală se înţelege dreptul şi capacitatea efectivă a autorităţilor administraţiei publice locale de a soluţiona şi de a gestiona, în numele şi în interesul colectivităţilor locale pe care le reprezintă, treburile publice, în condiţiile legii. (2) Acest drept se exercită de consiliile locale şi primari, precum şi de consiliile judeţene, autorităţi ale administraţiei publice locale alese prin vot universal, egal, direct, secret şi liber exprimat. (3) Dispoziţiile alin. (2) nu aduc atingere posibilităţii de a recurge la consultarea locuitorilor prin referendum sau prin orice altă formă de participare directă a cetăţenilor la treburile publice, în condiţiile legii. (4) Prin colectivitate locală se înţelege totalitatea locuitorilor din unitatea administrativ-teritorială.

35

Art. 4. – (1) Autonomia locală este numai administrativă şi financiară, fiind exercitată pe baza şi în limitele prevăzute de lege. (2) Autonomia locală priveşte organizarea, funcţionarea, competenţele şi atribuţiile, precum şi gestionarea resurselor care, potrivit legii, aparţin comunei, oraşului sau judeţului, după caz. Art. 5. – (1) Competenţele şi atribuţiile autorităţilor administraţiei publice locale se stabilesc numai prin lege. Aceste competenţe sunt depline şi exclusive, cu excepţia cazurilor prevăzute de lege. (2) Autonomia locală conferă autorităţilor administraţiei publice locale dreptul ca, în limitele legii, să aibă iniţiative în toate domeniile, cu excepţia celor care sunt date în mod expres în competenţa altor autorităţi publice. Art. 6. – (1) Raporturile dintre autorităţile administraţiei publice locale din comune şi oraşe şi autorităţile administraţiei publice de la nivel judeţean se bazează pe principiile autonomiei, legalităţii, responsabilităţii, cooperării şi solidarităţii în rezolvarea problemelor întregului judeţ. (2) În relaţiile dintre autorităţile administraţiei publice locale şi consiliul judeţean, pe de o parte, precum şi între consiliul local şi primar, pe de altă parte, nu există raporturi de subordonare. Art. 7. – (1) Exercitarea competenţelor şi atribuţiilor stabilite prin lege revine autorităţilor administraţiei publice locale care se găsesc cel mai aproape de cetăţean. (2) Stabilirea de competenţe şi atribuţii pentru alte autorităţi decât cele prevăzute la alin. (1) trebuie să ţină seama de amploarea şi de natura răspunderii ce le revine, precum şi de cerinţele de eficienţă şi eficacitate. (3) Autorităţile administraţiei publice centrale nu pot stabili sau impune nici un fel de de responsabilităţi autorităţilor administraţiei publice locale în procesul de descentralizare a unor servicii publice, fără asigurarea mijloacelor financiare corespunzătoare pentru realizarea respectivelor responsabilităţi. Legea nr. 215/2001 privind administraţia publică locală

Section D Writing:

D.1. Choose two examples of quangos in your locality. Explain their functions, who

appoints their members and discover as much as you can about the backgrounds of the

people appointed.

D.2. Comment on:

‘It is necessary to be somewhat underemployed if you want to do something significant.’

James D. Watson in H. Judson, The Eighth Day of Creation

‘Your work parallels your life, but in the sense of a glass full of water where people look

at it and say: ‘Oh, the water is the same shape as the glass!’’

Francis Ford Coppola: interview in the Guardian October 15, 1988

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UNIT 4 THE BALANCE OF POWER

Section A Central – Local Relations

Relations between central and local government came under growing strain in the 1980s and as a result left local government a much enfeebled body. For long there has been a debate about whether the central-local relationship is or should be one of partnership, or if local government should be an agent of the centre. It has been a question of finding the right balance between local autonomy which, if pushed to the limit, may result in marked disparities between authorities in the provision of services, and central guidance and control which, if pushed to the limit, might make local government merely the executive arm of central government. Few people in local government are satisfied, however, that the relationship between central and local government at present strikes a proper balance. Different models have been employed to describe the central-local relationship. In support of the agency model, it can be noted that central government has the power to create or abolish the units and powers of local government. In this model, the national framework of a policy is established and largely financed centrally and local authorities carry it out, with little scope for discretion or variation. The partnership model claims that the authorities do have some scope for local choice. Local government has its own political legitimacy, finance (from the council tax) resources, and even legal powers, and the balance of power between the centre and locality fluctuates, according to the context. There is too much variation in local services to sustain the agency model, even though local authorities are clearly subordinate in the partnership. Yet one needs to remember that, for all the well-publicized conflicts, the normal pattern is one of cooperation, consultation, and even bargaining. The relationship between the two levels of government is based on a mix of controls, dependence and cooperation. Local authorities have few legislative powers themselves; all local powers are conferred by Parliament and may be amended or withdrawn by it. If a local authority exceeds its powers then its actions will lack legal validity, and it may be held ultra vires by the courts. Powers are conferred in private or general Acts relating to a particular function, like education. Some responsabilities are mandatory, such as the compulsory sale of council houses to tenants, and some are permissive, such as whether or not local authorities reorganize secondary schools on comprehensive lines. There are also controls which stem from central government’s involvement in many services. The provision of primary and secondary education is the responsability of local auhorities. However, the scope of the curriculum and training and the supply of teachers lie largely in the hands of the Department of Education, and the school-leaving age is decided by Parliament. Under the Education Reform Act (1988) the government assumed greater power over the curriculum and introduced nationwide assessment of pupils. Another source of central influence is the power to approve the appointment and dismissal of certain chief officers. The approval of the Home Secretary, for example, is

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required for the appointment of a local Chief Constable, and the approval of the appropriate minister is necessary for appointments of chief education officers or directors of social services. Inspectors in education, police, fire and social services are all employed by central government to report on the standards and efficiency of the services. A local authority’s building plans for schools and the making of by-laws, require the approval of the appropriate department. Central government circulars also contain advice and guidance to local auhorities. In finance the government has the power to reduce a local auhority’s central grant if the latter is deemed to have ‘overspent’, and it approves local auhority applications to raise a loan for new capital expenditure. Finally, there are the legal controls which the government, organizations, or even individuals may invoke if an authority has broken the law. Local auhorities may provide only those services which they are empowered to by statute. The Audit Commission appoints auditors to inspect the local authority accounts each year to establish that all expenditure has been duly authorized. Individual councillors may be held responsible and surcharged for any authorized expenditure and even disqualified from membership of a local auhority. One has to beware of portraying local government in general, or even a particular local auhority, as monolithic and unified. The continuing importance of committees, departments, parties, and factions make an authority appear pluralistic to people who work in it. Local auhorities also vary in their orientations to Whitehall; differences in size, resources, powers, problems, and needs affect their relationships with government departments. There is no single spokesman for the local auhorities; the task is shared by the various local auhority associations (such as the Association of County Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities) which may be further divided on party or political grounds. Although there is a Minister for Local Government – in the Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions – Whitehall is still effectively departmentalized. Government departments negotiate with functional bodies or with the professional associations of chief officers – the Department of Education, for example, negotiates with the Association of Education Committees. In their dealings with local authorities about particular services, Whitehall departments varied between a laissez-faire approach at one extreme to interventionist strategies at the other. From British Politics, Dennis Kavanagh

A.1. Reading Comprehension:

Complete the following statements:

1. In the agency model, the national framework of a policy is established and largely

financed .............................. and local authorities carry it out.

2. The partnership model claims that the authorities do have some scope for

.............................. choice.

3. The relationship between the two levels of government is based on a mix of

............................... .

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4. All local powers are conferred by .............................. .

5. The provision of primary and secondary education is the responsibility of ...................

........... authorities.

6. The appointment of a local Chief Constable requires the approval of the ....................

.......... .

7. Inspectors in education, police, fire and social services are employed by ....................

.......... .

8. Central government circulars contain .............................. to local authorities.

9. Local authorities may provide only those services which they are empowered to by

.............................. .

10. The Audit Commission appoints auditors to inspect the .............................. each year.

A.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘To govern is to choose.’

Duc de Lévis, Maximes et Réflexions

‘Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the sovereign or state; servants of

fame and servants of business.’

Francis Bacon, Of Great Place

A.3. Language Focus

A.3.1. The Simple Past Tense

Relations between central and local government came under growing strain in the 1980s

and as a result left the local government a much feebler body.

Use 1. states or actions completed in the past

John was the first manager of the company. The Germans held elections a week ago.

2. in a sequence of past events

William opened the door, went to the desk and started searching ... 3. habitual or regular actions

He always spent his afternoons in the library.

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Have you had a pleasant/unpleasant experience in an administrative setting? Describe

the happening using the various instances of the Simple Past Tense.

A.3.2. The Past Continuous Tense

Use 1. activities happening at a particular time in the past

I was watching a programme on Discovery at 9 am yesterday. 2. actions that are interrupted

He was learning for his exam, when the phone rang. 3. special uses: always, continually

I didn’t like him – he was always showing off. 4. past continuous vs past simple: temporary vs. permanent incomplete vs. complete

It happened while I was living in Germany last year. I lived in London for ten years when I was a child.

Past Simple or Continuous? Choose the appropriate verbal form:

The traditional units of English local Government 1 .................... (be) the parish, the

borough and the county. As is the case with so many other British institutions, they

originally 2 .................... (fulfil) functions far different from those that they 3

.................... later .................... (call upon) to undertake. The parish 4 .................... (be) in

its early days an ecclesiastical unit, the centre of which 5 .................... (be) the parish

church. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it 6 .................... (acquire) civil

functions, such as the maintenance of highways and care of the poor. Borough status 7

.................... (grant) by the Crown. Apart from the prestige of receiving a charter, the

honour 8 .................... (be) a coveted one because it 9 .................... (give) towns a certain

amount of independence. Boroughs 10 .................... (have) their own courts, and they

could also hold markets and send representatives to Parliament. The county 11

.................... (be) originally the terrritory granted to an earl by the king in return for

feudal service.

A.3.3. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

The leader of the council is usually 1 .................... the leader of the majority party and,

more recently, 2.................... the policy committee. The leader’s emergence 3

..................... largely a post-war development. Previously, political leadership was usually

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dispersed 4 ..................... the chairmen of the different committees; acting 5 ................... ,

they might provide collective leadership. The ending of the aldermanic system and the

more frequent turnover of councillors have probably reduced the 6 ..................... for the

emergence of such experienced influentials. There 7 .................... some prominent, even

autocratic, local leaders. But as a 8 .................... they do not gain the national media

attention of the mayors of big American cities. 9 .................... with the American or

French mayor or German Bürgermeister, British 10 .................... government lacks

‘visible’ local political leaders.

A.3.4. Word Focus LAW

The making of by-laws require the approval of the appropriate department.

There are legal controls which may be invoked if an authority has broken the law.

Complete each of the following statements with a suitable phrase, making all the

necessary changes. Choose from the following:

to be a law unto itself to lay down the law to go to law to cheat the law

to have the law on someone law and order the (long) arm of the law

to take the law into one’s own hands to keep the law unwritten laws

1. He fled to Switzerland trying to escape .............................. .

2. My car is .............................. . I can’t rely on it.

3. After having tried in vain to reach a friendly settlement, William decided

.............................. against his business partner.

4. If you do that again, I’ll .............................. .

5. Maintaining .............................. is the state’s primary function.

6. He is always .............................. about marketing but he really doesn’t know much

about it.

7. When he saw the policeman’s attitude, he decided .............................. and started his

own private investigation.

8. .............................. play an important part in the English legal system.

9. Everyone must .............................. .

10. If one .............................., one must pay the consequences.

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A.3.5. Latin expressions

If a local authority exceeds its powers then its actions will lack legal validity, and it may

be held ultra vires by the courts.

Match the following items in column A with their English explanations in column B:

A B

1. compos mentis a. of the same kind

2. inter vivos b. things which are said in passing

3. ipso facto c. in a class of its own

4. per capita d. between living peple

5. inter alia e. by this fact, in itself

6. sui generis f. by speaking

7. obiter dicta g. among other things

8. viva voce h. in good faith

9. bona fide i. sane

10. eiusdem generis j. for each person

Section B Labour’s Decline and Fall

The latest Blunkett revelations are a symptom of a Government rotting from within

There are five great offices of state which, between them, dominate Westminster and Whitehall. They are Downing Street, the Treasury, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office and Defence. At present, five months before a general election, the structure is a shambles. This makes it difficult to be governed; it will also make it difficult for the Labour Party to win the general election, however far ahead it may be in the opinion polls. Yet no one can see how the structure can be mended. The trouble starts at the top. The relationship between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer can best be described as one of political enmity though Tony Blair and Gordon Brown co-operate out of mutual interest. In effect, there are two governments; one, which controls foreign affairs, defence and patronage, is run from Downing Street; the other, which controls public expenditure and social policy, is run from the Treasury. This division of powers is similar to that between the monarch and the Prime Minister in the 18th century. George II and Robert Walpole, or George III and Lord North, shared authority in a similar way. One difference is that no 18th-century monarch would have put up with the gloomy insubordination that Tony Blair has had to tolerate for the past seven years. Another difference is that no 18th century prime minister wanted to make

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himself king. On the whole, the division of powers worked better in the 18th century than it does in the 21st. It used to be said that control of expenditure and revenue made the House of Commons the sovereign element in the British constitution. That control has now passed to the Treasury: it belongs to the Commons only in a notional sense; it belongs to the Prime Minister only if he is able, if necessary, to dismiss his Chancellor. At present, and until the election, it belongs effectively to Gordon Brown; he is the sovereign power. The conflict between these two governments is a serious handicap to the administration. Ministers cannot adopt policies that Mr Brown will not pay for. Every important policy has to be financed and therefore becomes a negotiation between the two governments. Mr Brown sincerely thinks that he ought to be prime minister and is inclined to behave as though he were. The closer one gets to the heart of the Government machine, the louder is the grinding of these gears. Since the election of 2001 this ultimately intolerable strain has been mediated by the other three major ministers: Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, and Geoff Hoon, the Secretary for Defence. Now two of these three are in disarray. Mr Straw is the exception. A sound lawyer-politician, a master of his many briefs, who knows when to keep his head down, he is the only one of the big five who still enjoys a normal level of confidence and respect. Mr Hoon survives in office, but his prevaricating evidence to the Hutton inquiry did him much harm. He sounded untrustworthy and over-promoted; presumably he was retained because Mr Blair thought it would do the Government more damage to dismiss him than to keep him. He adds no weight to the Cabinet. This was the Government’s situation before the Blunkett story broke. I’m not sure that David Blunkett is a particulary good Home Secretary; he seems to have a positive mania for legislation, as shown by the absurd over-indulgence in Home Office Bills in the Queen’s Speech. Much of the time he is governed by soundbites. But he is, or was a superb ministerial politician. He has a combination of intelligence and forcefulness which gives him the weight that many of his colleagues lack. In his personal troubles quality has been only too apparent. Yet obsessiveness can be a political virtue. He charges like a bull in the ring, or a Dreadnought at sea. For seven years he may have been the only minister who was not the tiniest bit afraid of Gordon Brown. I’m not sure that he can survive; his second affair seems particularly disturbing. There tends to be an abuse of power when the boss has an affair with an attractive junior, and breaks up her current relationship. The whole Blunkett story is becoming excessive; each twist raises new questions. If Mr Blunkett does survive, his reputation will not be restored to what it was. He has not behaved in the impeccable way that Mr Blair promised for his administration. He has not shown judgement; he has involved civil servants in his private life. At best he would be a damaged minister, a weight on Mr Blair’s authority rather than a support. He is certainly not a future prime minister, yet a minister who does not have a marshal’s baton in his knapsack lacks one of the tools of power. The Labour Party itself still has a lot of support. Recent opinion polls show Labour ahead by between two and eight points, enough for another large majority. Yet a general

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election Labour will have to convert opinion poll preferences into votes, and that Labour has been failing to do. In the past six months there have been parliamentary by-elections, local government by-elections and local government and European elections, four different tests of actual voting. In none of them has Labour reached the equivalent of 30 per cent, the level probably required for another majority. Mr Blair cannot offer his present top team to the country, as they are. The questions come thick and fast, like the arrows at Hastings or Agincourt. When will Mr Blair retire? Will he reappoint Gordon Brown as Chancellor? Will Mr Brown go to the back benches? Who will replace Geoff Hoon? Will David Blunkett have left office already? When will he go? This Labour Government is now like a rotten tree. It is loosely bolted together by the iron ring of Straw, Hoon and Blunkett. Now the iron ring itself is breaking up. William Rees-Mogg, The Times, December 6, 2004 B.1. Reading Comprehension

Are the following statements true or false?

1. The offices of state which, between them dominate, Westminster and Whitehall are:

Downing Street, the Treasury, the Foreign Office and Defence.

2. The relationship between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer can

be described as one of political friendship.

3. There are two governments: one run from Downing Street, the other from the

Treasury.

4. The House of Commons used to be the sovereign element in the British constitution.

5. The division of powers is similar to that between the monarch and the Prime Minister

in the eighteenth century.

6. Every impotant policy has to be financed.

7. Jack Straw does no longer enjoy a normal level of confidence and respect.

8. The Labour party still has a lot of support.

9. It reached the equivalent of 30 per cent in all previous elections.

10. Tony Blair can offer his present top team to the country.

B.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘The closer one gets to the heart of the government machine, the louder is the grinding of

these gears.’

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B.3. Language Focus

B.3.1. Prefixes OVER

He sounded untrustworthy and over-promoted.

.... as was shown by the absurd over-indulgence in Home Office Bills.

The prefix over combines with adjectives, verbs, nouns or numbers to form new adjectives, verbs and nouns; words formed in this way: 1. indicate that a quality exists or an action is done to too great an extent

e.g. over-react; overdose; over-anxious 2. refer to people who are older than the number mentioned

e.g. over-fives; over-twenties 3. express the idea that one person or group of people has power or authority over

another e.g. overthrow; overpower

Complete the folowing statements with a suitable word from the list:

protective sixties react powered due

anxious throw rule populated came

1. Do not over .................... if the manager makes some critical remarks.

2. The representative was over .................... to keep the appointment.

3. His over .................... attitude started slowly to annoy her.

4. Over .................... areas require efficient administration.

5. The over .................... want to do something that the community values.

6. He founded a secret organization whose sole aim was to over .................... the

government.

7. Thieves dressed as policemen over .................... guards at a museum.

8. The European Court of Justice has the power to over .................... statutes.

9. He over .................... a strong temptation to run away.

10. These bills should have been paid before now. They are long over .................... .

B.3.2. Focus on POWER

Translate the following items into Romanian and use them in contexts of your own:

1. to take office

2. to go to the vote

3. to bring into force

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4. to make political capital out of

5. to bow to pressure

6. to be at loggerheads

7. to come under fire

8. to resign the whip

9. to carry a lot of clout

10. to level a charge at somebody

B.3.3. Phrasal verbs BREAK

The boss has an affair with an attractive junior and breaks up her current relationship.

Now the iron ring itself is breaking up.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate missing item. Choose from:

down (2) away through(2) in out off into up

1. Several Labour MPs broke .................... to join the Conservatives.

2. Negotiations between the two sides have broken ..................... .

3. Burglars had broken .................... while we were away on holiday.

4. Expenditure on the project breaks .................... as follows: wages £10m, plant £4m,

raw material £5m.

5. As the President’s car arrived, the crowd broke .................... loud applause.

6. He broke .................... in the middle of the sentence.

7. War broke .................... in 1939.

8. Scientists say they are beginning to break .................... in the fight against cancer.

9. Demonstrators broke .................... the police cordon.

10. The Government has broken .................... the large private estates.

Section C Translation

C.1. Translate into Romanian:

There has been an increasing interest shown in the problems of conceptualising and comprehending central-local relations and more generally inter-governmental relations. The key point to emerge is that one needs to move beyond a narrow focus on relations

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between central and local government towards an understanding of the national local government system. Councils are located and locate themselves in what may be termed ‘the national local government system’. This may be taken to describe the complex web of inter- and supra-authority relations which can exert a strong influence on the policies pursued in particular localities. The attraction of this definition is that while central-local relations rightly remain a prime topic for analysis the wider organisational networks and influences of inter-governmental relations are brought into focus. The term ‘central-local government relationship’ can be misleading if it encourages a narrow focus on the interaction between central departments and local authorities. In practice a range of other organisations cut across the relationship, including the local authority associations, professional organisations, party institutions, quasi-government organisations and trade unions. This constellation of actors and organisations determines the parameters within which local authorities operate. Thus while the influence of central government on local authorities is substantial and cannot be neglected attention should also be directed to ideas and influences coming from other organisations within the national local government system. The national local government system influences and is influenced by local authorities. It is an important source of ideas and values. It provides an environment in which local authorities situate themselves and their problems and an arena for them to look for new initiatives or policy solutions which may be appropriate to their needs. The Politics of Local Government, Gerry Stoker

C.2. Translate into English:

Atribuţiile Guvernului

Art. 11. – În realizarea funcţiilor sale Guvernul îndeplineşte următoarele atribuţii principale: a) exercită conducerea generală a administraţiei publice; b) iniţiază proiecte de lege şi le supune spre adoptare Parlamentului; c) emite hotărâri pentru organizarea executării legilor, ordonanţe în temeiul unei legi speciale de abilitare şi ordonanţe de urgenţă potrivit Constituţiei; d) asigură executarea de către autorităţile administraţiei publice a legilor şi a celorlalte dispoziţii normative date în aplicarea acestora; e) elaborează proiectele de lege a bugetului de stat şi a bugetului asigurărilor sociale de stat şi le supune spre adoptare Parlamentului; f) aprobă strategiile şi programele de dezvoltare economică a ţării, pe ramuri şi domenii de activitate; g) asigură realizarea politicii în domeniul social potrivit Programului de guvernare; h) asigură apărarea ordinii de drept, a liniştii publice şi a siguranţei cetăţeanului, precum şi a drepturilor şi libertăţilor cetăţenilor, în condiţiile prevăzute de lege; i) aduce la îndeplinire măsurile adoptate, potrivit legii, pentru apărarea ţării, scop în care organizează şi înzestrează forţele armate; j) asigură realizarea politicii externe a ţării şi, în acest cadru, integrarea României în structurile europene şi internaţionale;

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k) negociază tratatele, acordurile şi convenţiile internaţionale care angajează statul român; negociază şi încheie, în condiţiile legii, convenţii şi alte înţelegeri internaţionale la nivel guvernamental; l) conduce şi controlează activitatea ministerelor şi a celorlalte organe centrale de specialitate din subordinea sa; m) asigură administrarea proprietăţii publice şi private a statului; n) acordă şi retrage cetăţenia română, în condiţiile legii; aprobă renunţarea la cetăţenia română, în aceleaşi condiţii; o) înfiinţează, cu avizul Curţii de Conturi, organe de specialitate în subordinea sa; p) cooperează cu organismele sociale interesate în îndeplinirea atribuţiilor sale; r) îndeplineşte orice alte atribuţii prevăzute de lege sau care decurg din rolul şi funcţiile Guvernului. Art. 12. – (1) Pentru rezolvarea unor probleme din competenţa sa Guvernul poate constitui organisme cu caracter consultativ. (2) În scopul elaborării, integrării, corelării şi monitorizării de politici Guvernul poate constitui consilii, comisii şi comitete interministeriale. (3) Modul de organizare şi funcţionare a structurilor prevăzute la alin. (1) şi (2) şi a serviciilor acestora se stabileşte prin hotărâre a Guvernului, în limita bugetului aprobat. Legea 90/2001 privind organizarea şi funcţionarea Guvernului României şi a

ministerelor

Section D Writing

Comment on:

‘The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.’

Edmund Burke

‘Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an

intolerable one.’

Thomas Paine, Common Sense

‘The happiness of society is the end of government.’

John Adams, Thoughts on Government

‘Each country has the government it deserves.’

Joseph de Maistre

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UNIT 5 RULE MAKING PROCEDURES

Section A Subordinate Legislation

To the observer of the British approach to the making of statutory rules by ministers or administrative bodies under delegated powers from Parliament, two main features stand out. One is that while statutory rules are made by various subordinate bodies, final responsibility rests with Parliament. Exceptions to the principle can be found, but in general Parliament has the power to scrutinize and veto delegated legislation. The other main feature is that no general and systematic procedure exists for the making of subordinate legislation. The constitutional focus is on Parliament, on its powers to delegate rule-making authority and to control it after the rules have been made, not on the rule making process. In delegating legislative powers to administrative bodies, Parliament has complete authority and may impose whatever procedures it wishes. Once subordinate legislation has been made, Parliament has wide powers to examine it, to require that changes be made, or through its powers of veto to declare it null. Its role in exercising the power of veto has been much discussed. The normal practice is that delegated legislation should be laid before both Houses of Parliament for a certain number of days before coming into effect in order to give members the opportunity to scrutinize its terms and possibly move for reference back or even a veto. The laying requirements were introduced in the nineteenth century and, with the increase in delegated legislation, have been developed and extended through a series of statutory and internal parliamentary measures, the object in each case being to increase Parliament’s control. Without here looking into history and detail of those measures, it is enough to note the main features of curent procedures. First, most rules are required to be laid before the Houses of Parliament so that Members may raise issues about them. Secondly, the Joint Scrutiny Committee considers all delegated legislation to see whether or not it has been laid before Parliament. Matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of the House of Commons, usually matters of a financial kind, are examined by a select committee. Scrutiny by these committees is largely confined to matters of form and technique. Thirdly, a standing committee, known as the Merits Committee, was recently introduced to review and report on the merits of statutory rules. Fourthly, in general, either House of Parliament may annul delegated legislation which had been laid before it. These procedures taken together appear to invest Parliament with an impressive system of scrutiny and control of delegated legislation. The reality, however, is less impressive, with the full use of Parliament’s powers being hindered by a number of factors: rules are not generally published in advance of being laid; little, if any, consultation occurs between the administrators and departments making the rules and Parliament; and, finally, the sheer volume of rules being produced makes effective scrutiny of both form and merits difficult. It is hard enough for the committees to master the material; it is even

49

harder to get matters before the House for debate. The committees have no power of annulment of their own and can only recommend and propose to the House; indeed, neither the committees charged with technical matters nor the Merits Committee appear to have realized their potential as effective forms of scrutiny. Moving now to the process for making rules, the first thing one notes is the absence of a general and systematic legal framework. Rules are made by ministers and their departments and by a number of other administrative and statutory bodies. The power to make formal statutory rules depends entirely on the parent statute, which also in the main dictates the procedures to be followed. The general provisions for publication apply to most rules, while the laying requirement is also of fairly general application. Beyond that, matters of procedure in making rules are left to the parent statute. Some statutes conferring legislative power impose no procedures to govern its exercise, and leave the matter to the discretion of the administration. However, modern statutes usually specify the procedures to be followed, and while the procedural variation is extensive, certain distinctive patterns can be detected. One is that where a group is directly affected, provision is often made for objections to be lodged against draft rules. Once objections are made, different courses might be followed: the minister might be required to take the objections into account, or the objections might be the trigger for a public inquiry, or some other form of hearing where interested parties may put their views. An alternative pattern appears where the minister is required to consult certain interests before drafting the legislation, although he will normally have discretion as to whom he consults. This often means consulting the representatives of special groups or organisations or advisory bodies, such as the Law Society, the United Synagogue, or the British Medical Association, although there may also be scope for individuals to make their views known. Consultation is often informal, although different elements of formality may be introduced, one of the more common of which is some form of hearing. Less common patterns of procedure occur where the legislative rules are initially drafted by a special advisory or representative body, with power in the minister to amend; alternatively, the minister may draft regulations and then submit them to a special body for its comments and recommendations. Such special bodies in turn have various ways of consulting interests and ascertaining public opinion. Within each of these patterns, considerable scope for procedural variation and differences of emphasis is still possible. Where the parent statute fails to specify the procedures to be followed in rule-making, the subordinate authority must proceed as it thinks best. It might adopt procedures which include the publication of working papers, the opportunity for notice and comment, consultations, and the taking of expert advice. There is no set pattern, however, with different rule-making bodies proceeding largely according to their own lights. Some procedures are reasonably formal, while others are entirely informal, reflecting the rule maker’s attitudes and preferences rather than systematic principles. Here the informal networks play a major role in the creation of legislative rules. Some argue that these networks work well, although how that is known in the absence of hard evidence is another matter. The claim is often made that informality, pragmatism, and the ability to tap currents of opinion are characteristic of British public life and its special genius. It is

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often added, moreover, that overall the system works well, although this is clearly a matter on which more empirical evidence is needed. In any event, the perception that the British system of informality works well appears to have been sufficiently strong to warrant its transplantation to other parts of the world. Due Process and Fair Procedures, D. J. Galligan

A.1. Reading Comprehension

Are the following statements true or false?

1. Parliament has the power to scrutinise and veto delegated legislation.

2. There is a general and systematic procedure for the making of subordinate legislation.

3. Delegated legislation should be laid before the House of Lords for a certain number

of days.

4. Matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of the House of Commons are examined by

a select committee.

5. The Merits Committee was introduced to review and report on the merits of statutory

rules.

6. The committees have power of annulment of their own.

7. Rules are made by ministers and their deparments and by a number of other

administrative and statutory bodies.

8. The general provisions for publication apply to most rules.

9. Where a group is directly affected, provision is often made for objections to be

lodged against draft rules.

10. If the parent statute fails to specify the procedures to be followed in rule making, the

subordinate authority must proceed as it thinks best.

A.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon one of the following:

1. One law for the rich, and another for the poor.

2. The law grows of sin and punishes it.

3. Law makers should not be law breakers.

4. Laws catch flies but let hornets go free.

5. The more laws, the more offenders.

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A.3. Language Focus

A.3.1. The Gerund

An alternative pattern appears where the minister is required to consult certain interests

before drafting the legislation.

Use 1. after prepositions: before, after, without, by, about, at, to, of, etc.

Clarify all your problems before going on with the project. 2. after certain verbs: admit, avoid, deny, dislike, enjoy, feel like, finish, etc.

I enjoy writing in the evening. 3. as the subject or object of a sentence

Drafting legislation implies a lot of responsibility. 4. after certain idiomatic expressions

It’s no use complaining about the measures. The manager won’t listen to you any way. That is an excellent paper. It’s worth reading it.

Other expressions: There is no point in ... It’s no good ... 5. after certain verbs which are followed by to

I’m looking forward to visiting the house where the president lived. She can’t get used to going to court in a gown.

Other such verbs: object to, get round to, prefer (doing one thing to doing another) Provide other illustrative contexts for the gerund.

A.3.2. Match the words bellow to their explanations using the following grid:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. to veto A to re-examine or reconsider

2. to come into effect B to reach the stage of being in use

3. to review C to present to the proper authorities for attention

4. to annul D to reject or forbid a legislative proposal or action

5. to draft E to declare no longer valid

6. to lodge F to make minor improvements in

7. to amend G to give sth so that it may be considered, decided on

8. to submit H to justify

9. to proceed I to make a preliminary version of

10. to warrant J to go to a further or the next stage

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A.3.3. What is the meaning of to raise issues in the text? Find the right explanation for

each of the following idioms:

1. (the matter, point, etc) at issue A to treat as if it needed serious discussion

2. to force the issue B being discussed or debated

3. to make an issue (out) of sth C to direct one’s attention to a problem

4. to adress an issue D to proceed to disagree or argue with sb

5. to take issue with sb E to act so as to make an immediate

(about/on/over sth) decision necessary

Complete the following sentences with the appropriate idiom:

1. What’s .................... here is the whole future of justice.

2. It’s only a small disagreement – let’s not .................... .

3. The manager will probably .................... with his employees. Raising their salaries is

not one of his priorities.

4. The trade unions have complained about the new labour legislation. .................... is just

a matter of time.

5. The members of the board must .................... of the fall in prices without delay.

A.3.4. Fill in the blanks in the following text with an appropriate term from the list

below:

interest hearing satisfied judicial-type interested effective

treatment licence holding body sound thought

Fair 1 .................... could be achieved from a number of different procedures or

combinations of procedures. Suppose the object is to decide whether a 2 ....................

should be granted, where the decision is to be made according to whether certain

conditions have been 3 .................... and whether it is in the public 4 .................... . One

procedural approach would be investigation by the licensing 5 .................... itself,

gathering whatever information it 6 .................... relevant, emphasizing informality and 7

.................... discussions with the applicant. An alternative procedural approach would be

a 8 .................... procedure with all the trappings of a court, including a formal 9

...................., the calling of evidence and witnesses, and the legal representation of the

applicant and other 10 .................... parties . The two procedural approaches are very

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different, but each might be 11 ..................... in providing information and material on the

basis of which a 12 .................... decision could be made.

Section B Ministers Back Legal Safeguards

Ministers agreed yesterday to tighten electoral law to provide greater safeguards against fraud and intimidation. But the Government accepted only about 70 per cent of the Electoral Commission recommendations for new laws and failed to put a timetable on implementation. No legislation will be introduced before the county council elections next May, when all-postal ballots may go ahead in some aeas. The Commission had asked the Government to introduce individual rather than household registration which prevents one resident voting on behalf of everyone else. It had also asked for new legislation to make it clear that intimidation in areas other than just polling booths was a criminal offence – which the Government has rejected. In their response to the Electoral Commission ministers accepted some proposals for tighter safeguards in principle. The Department for Constitutional Affairs said yesterday that it was sympathetic to the principles of individual registration but was concerned about maintaining a simple system. Nicole Smith, the commission’s director of policy and strategy, said the Government was concerned that individual registration would involve more form-filling. Mr Smith said a system could be adapted to online or telephone registration with safeguards to avoid increased bureaucracy. The DCA said that ministers did not agree either with changing laws regarding intimidation. ‘The Government does not consider that the existing law on undue influence is deficient’, it responded. ‘The Government does, however, accept that obtaining sufficient evidence to gain convictions is a problem’, it concedes. Ministers have accepted the commission’s proposal that fraudulent application for a postal vote should be an offence with a maximum penalty of a custodial sentence. They also agree that new laws should be introduced so existing provisions relating to personation are extended to give police the power of arrest based on reasonable suspicion of personation anywhere, not just at the polling station. The DCA agrees that a marked register of postal votes cast should be compiled to assist detection and prevention of fraud. It also agrees that barcodes should replace serial numbers on ballot papers and watermarks should replace stamping instruments. This would ensure that the ballot paper has an official mark while reducing the scope for human error to invalidate the vote cast. Ministers backed a nationwide electronic register compiled locally to enable people to vote at any polling station and said that the last date for registering to vote should be moved nearer to the election. Sam Younger, the Electoral Commission chairman, said he was pleased that the Government had accepted many recommendations. Jill Sherman, The Times, December 10, 2004

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B.1. Reading Comprehension

Choose the appropriate word(s) for each of the following sentence:

1. Ministers agreed to tighten criminal/electoral/family law.

2. The Government accepted only about 50/70/80 per cent of the Electoral Commission

recommendations for new laws.

3. The Department for Constitutional Affairs was concerned about maintaining a simple/

new/complicated system.

4. Individual registration would involve more personal/form-filling/complex techniques.

5. The Government does not consider that the existing law on undue influence/gain/

pressure is deficient.

6. Fraudulent application for a postal vote should be an offence with a(n) adaptable/

maximum/severe penalty of a custodial sentence.

7. A marked file/register/document of postal votes cast should be compiled to assist

detection and prevention of fraud.

8. Barcodes should replace serial numbers on ballot papers/registers/dossiers.

9. Ministers backed a nationwide electronic register compiled locally to enable people to

vote at any polling station/their polling station/home.

10. The Government has accepted/improved/disregarded many recommendations.

B.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘A minister who moves about in society is in a position to read the signs of times even in

a festive gathering, but one who remains shut up in his office learns nothing.’

Duc de Choiseul: Jack F. Bernard, Talleyrand

B.3. Language Focus

B.3.1. Give the Romanian equivalents for each of the following idioms and use them in

contexts of your own:

1. to be in the lead

2. to call an election

3. to go to the country

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4. to field a candidate

5. to hit the campaign trail

6. to be a vote winner

7. to go to the polls

8. to cast a vote

9. to concede defeat

10. to be sworn in

B.3.2. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

British 1...................., and citizens of other Commonwealth countries and the Irish

Republic resident in the UK, may 2 .................... in parliamentary elections provided that

they are:

□ 3 .................... 18 or over;

□ included in the register of electors for the constituency; and

□ not subject to any legal 4 .................... to vote.

People not entitled to vote include members of the 5 .................... of Lords, foreign

nationals 6 .................... in the UK , some patients detained under mental health

legislation, sentenced prisoners and 7 .................... convicted within the previous five 8

.................... of corrupt or illegal election practices. Members of the armed 9

...................., Crown servants and 10 .................... of the British Council employed

overseas may be registered at an address in the constituency where they would live if not

serving abroad . 11 ...................... citizens living abroad may apply to register as electors

for a period of 12 .................... to 15 years after they have left the UK.

B.3.3. Write a short elections report using the following words:

recommendations; fraud; ballots; polling booths; safeguard; form-filling; postal vote;

polling station; cast; registration

Section C Translation

C.1. Translate into Romanian:

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The Queen’s Speech, which is delivered at the beginning of each session, promises ‘various bills’, ‘legislation’, ‘measures’, ‘discussion’, and ‘proposals’. Some proposals eventually introduced by ministers may not have been mentioned in the speech, because they were not anticipated when it was written, were not considered important at the time, or are perennial items. To become law a government bill must navigate what has been called the Whitehall ‘obstacle race’. Where a department has recognised an issue as suitable for legislation and decides to make out a case for a bill, it will then circulate a draft proposal to other departments which are likely to be affected, and to the Treasury. If the Cabinet agrees, the proposal goes to its Future Legislation Committee, then to Parliamentary Counsel, who will draft a bill. Finally, the proposal will be included in the Queen’s Speech, along with statements of the government’s other plans for the forthcoming session. Once the Cabinet has granted the time, the bill is then forwarded to its Legislation Committee, which is responsible for piloting the bill through Parliament. The Cabinet’s decision (or its committee’s ) is therefore important at three stages: on the substance of legislation in the policy committees, the wording and form in the Legislation Committee, and the parliamentary timing in the Furure Legislation Committee. Within the Commons, the first reading of the bill is formal, being a statement of the bill’s purpose. On the second reading the bill’s contents are subject to a fuller debate. If its general principles have been approved it goes to a standing committee for detailed consideration. The composition of the standing committee must, according to Standing Order No. 65 ‘have regard to ... the composition of the House’, that is, reflect the party balance of the Commons. The bill, with any amendments, then goes back to the whole House for a report stage and may be subject to further amendments. On the third reading there is a final debate and then a vote on the bill. Except in the case of money bills, the bill goes through a similar process in the House of Lords, but the Lords have no standing committees: all bills are considered in a committee of the Whole House. If the amendments are made by the Lords and insisted on, against the wishes of the Commons, then the bill falls. It may be reintroduced in the same form by the Commons and, if passed again, will become a law, notwithstanding the objection of the Lords. Finally, the bill goes to the monarch to receive the Royal Assent and becomes law. From British Politics, Dennis Kavanagh C.1.Translate into English:

Dispoziţii privind participarea la procesul de elaborare a actelor normative

Art. 6. – (1) În cadrul procedurilor de elaborare a proiectelor de acte normative

autoritatea administraţiei publice are obligaţia să publice un anunţ referitor la această

acţiune în site-ul propriu, să-l afişeze la sediul propriu, într-un spaţiu accesibil publicului,

şi să-l transmită către mass-media centrală sau locală, după caz. Autoritatea administraţiei

publice va transmite proiectele de acte normative tuturor persoanelor care au depus o

cerere pentru primirea acestor informaţii.

(2) Anunţul referitor la elaborarea unui proiect de act normativ va fi adus la cunoştinţă publicului, în condiţiile alin. (1), cu cel puţin 30 de zile înainte de supunerea spre analiză,

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avizare şi adoptare de către autorităţile publice. Anunţul va cuprinde o notă de fundamentare, o expunere de motive sau, după caz, un referat de aprobare privind necesitatea adoptării actului normativ propus, textul complet al proiectului actului respectiv, precum şi termenul limită, locul şi modalitatea în care cei interesaţi pot trimite în scris propuneri, sugestii, opinii cu valoare de recomandare privind proiectul de act normativ. (3) Anunţul referitor la elaborarea unui proiect de act normativ cu relevanţă asupra mediului de afaceri se transmite de către iniţiator asociaţiilor de afaceri şi altor asociaţii legal constituite, pe domenii specifice de activitate, în termenul prevăzut la alin. (2). (4) La publicarea anunţului autoritatea administraţiei publice va stabili o perioadă de cel puţin 10 zile pentru a primi în scris propuneri, sugestii sau opinii cu privire la proiectul de act normativ supus dezbaterii publice. (5) Conducătorul autorităţii publice va desemna o persoană din cadrul instituţiei, responsabilă pentru relaţia cu societatea civilă, care să primească propunerile, sugestiile şi opiniile persoanelor interesate cu privire la proiectul de act normativ propus. (6) Proiectul de act normativ se transmite spre analiză şi avizare autorităţilor publice interesate numai după definitivare, pe baza observaţiilor şi propunerilor formulate potrivit alin. (4). (7) Autoritatea publică în cauză este obligată să decidă organizarea unei întâlniri în care să se dezbată public proiectul de act normativ, dacă acest lucru a fost cerut în scris de către o asociaţie legal constituită sau de către o altă autoritate publică. (8) În toate cazurile în care se organizează dezbateri publice, acestea trebuie să se desfăşoare în cel mult 10 zile de la publicarea datei şi locului unde urmează să fie organizate. Autoritatea publică în cauză trebuie să analizeze toate recomandările referitoare la proiectul de act normativ în discuţie. (9) În cazul reglementării unei situaţii care, din cauza circumstanţelor sale excepţionale, impune adoptarea de soluţii imediate, în vederea evitării unei grave atingeri aduse interesului public, proiectele de acte normative se supun adoptării în procedura de urgenţă prevăzută de reglementările în vigoare. Legea nr.52/2003 privind transparenţa decizională în administraţia publică

Section D Writing

D.1. Comment on :

‘The good of the people is the chief law.’

Cicero, De legibus

‘Ignorance of the law excuses no man; not that all men know the law, but because it is an

excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to confute him.’

John Selden, Law

D.2. Write a law entitled The Fundamental Law for a Meaningful Existence.

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UNIT 6 CIVIL SERVANTS

Section A Permanence, Neutrality, Anonimity

Governments might change their political complexion after a general election, while government ministers regularly come, go and are reshuffled according to the wishes of the prime minister. But the civil servants staffing those ministries continue as though nothing has happened, ensuring a stability and continuity of administration that is in sharp contrast with the fairly short life-span of ministerial appointments and which is very different from the American system of ‘spoils’ or patronage under which senior officials change every time the elected administration changes. Ministers in a British government, when they are appointed, know little or nothing about the department they have to run, being more or less ignorant about the work and concerns of that department. Senior civil servants on the other hand have had years of experience as professional administrators, building up a wealth of expertise across a range of departments, ensuring a smooth continuity in the administration of any department’s work. This does tend to lead to an unadventurous attitude on the part of officials, since the looked-for continuity is best achieved through a middle-of-the-road approach to policy that avoids unsettling changes of direction by not deviating too much from the status quo and the policies of the previous administration. This is turn has sometimes created problems and tensions between senior civil servants who have become rather set in their ways and those governments that have been elected on a radical manifesto: Ranged against the politician’s claim to be breaking with the past is the belief in the Civil Service that it represents and personifies the seamless integrity of past, present and future government rolled indistinguishably into one. Whitehall is the custodian of the very continuity that the new keepers of Westminster think they have been elected to rupture. The desire of civil servants for a smooth continuity in any transfer of power means that the not inconsiderable energies and talents of senior policy-making civil servants will be devoted to playing down over-radical demands for change by means of promoting consensual solutions. The concept of permanence has also given rise to a convention which states that senior civil servants have security of tenure and can only be dismissed from their posts at the specific request of a minister, with the additional approval of both the prime minister and the Head of the Civil Service. In fact the appearance of job security for senior civil servants is as illusory as any political convention. Under common law a civil servant is a servant of the Crown and therefore theoretically part of the royal household. As such, a government minister, acting in the name of the Crown, has the right to dismiss a civil servant ‘at pleasure’, without notice and without giving a reason for that dismissal. Even modern civil servants who have proper contracts of employment have no more claim to

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security of tenure than any other employee whose employment is only safeguarded by that minimum of legislation which promises redress if unfair dismissal can be proved. The continuity of a permanent Civil Service, whereby the same civil servants serve successive governments of different political complexions, presupposes that civil servants should not compromise that ability to serve any master by holding strong political opinions themselves. After all, civil servants do not make policy, they merely carry out decisions made by the politicians, meaning that they themselves should be politically neutral and non-partisan. As one former minister has described their duty to serve the government of the day, regardless of the party that is in power, ‘If convinced of the need for action on practical grounds, it [the Civil Service] will assist Labour governments to advance socialism ... and will equally impartially assist Conservative governments to demolish what the socialists have created. Often the same officials will do both.’ (Gerald Kaufmann, How to Be a Minister, London, 1997) All applicants to join the Civil Service are investigated and carefully screened before appointment and, although this process exists primarily to weed out any candidates with fascist or communist tendencies, the system does tend to throw up those applicants with strongly partisan loyalties. Civil Servants are not expected to play any role in party politics at national level, nor to perform any actions which could be interpreted as serving the partisan interests of either government or opposition, nor should they speak in public or publish writings about politically controversial issues. Under the House of Commons Disqualification Act of 1975 which defines those holders of public office who are not allowed to take seats in the House of Commons, civil servants are ruled to be not eligible to stand for election, either to the parliament at Westminster or to the European Parliament. As for political activity in a civil servant’s spare time, the position varies according to their place in the service hierarchy. Civil servants in industrial or non-office grades are said to belong to the ‘politically free’ category and for these there are no restrictions, except for the normal requirement that a civil servant should not indulge in political activity while on duty. Nor should a politically-active civil servant`s connection with the service be made widely known. Beyond this unrestricted category there is an intermediate group who can indulge in political activity, but only with the approval of their head of department. However, senior civil servants who are directly involved in the policy-making process should play no part in national politics whatsoever: to the extent of not even being expected to express a political opinion in public. As the Civil Service Management Code states: ‘Civil servants not in the politically free category must not allow the expression of their personal political views to constitute so strong and so comprehensive a commitment to one political party as to inhibit or appear to inhibit loyal and effective service to Ministers of another party. They must take particular care to express comment with moderation, particularly about matters for which their own Ministers are responsible, to avoid comment altogether about matters of controversy affecting the responsability of their own Ministers, and to avoid personal attacks.’ However, even the most senior civil servants are permitted to take part in local government politics, with the approval of their heads of department.

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Traditionally, civil servants were never named nor was their identity made known to the public. This was the rule for two main reasons: 1 If civil servants with a say in policy formulation or the drafting of legislation are not named they cannot be ‘got at’ by interesed parties, either by means of bribery or threats. Anonymous and unidentified civil servants find it easier to maintain their necessary neutrality. 2 Civil servants need not fear taking decisive action or giving frank advice to their ministers since, if civil servants are not named, they cannott be blamed if their actions or advice prove to be wrong. It would be wrong to suppose that the anonymity of civil servants has ever been either absolute or universal. Many lowly officials in the Civil Service, such as counter clerks in social security benefit offices, have daily face-to-face contact with members of the public, and for some time have worn identifying name-badges while doing so. Nevertheless, there was and is a persistent belief on the part of those civil servants involved in the policy-making process, that the interests of the state and the better functioning of the Civil Service would be best served if their identity could remain hidden from the general public. These three characteristics of permanence, neutrality and anonymity are inextricably linked to – and form the essential foundation for – the doctrine of ministerial responsibility, which states that a minister is personally responsible for the workings of his or her department and therefore for all the actions of civil servants under his or her control. It has always been a major convention of the unwritten British Constitution that a government minister is responsible for the conduct of his or her department and indeed for the actions or inactions of the civil servants in that department. The minister is accountable for this responsibility to the people through parliament and in the past it was always understood that parliament could require the resignation of a minister for failure to meet that responsability, even if the fault was of civil servants rather than that of the minister personally.

Adapted from The Civil Service in Britain Today, Collin Pilkington

A.1 Reading Comprehension

Answer the following questions:

1. What is a civil servant?

2. In what way is the British system different from the American one?

3. How would you comment on ‘Whitehall is the custodian of the very continuity that

the new keepers of Westminster think they have been elected to rupture’?

4. How can a senior civil servant be dismissed?

5. Are the civil servants allowed to make policy?

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6. What is the attitude towards applicants with strongly partisan loyalties?

7. Can civil servants stand for election?

8. To what extent can civil servants express their political views?

9. What are the reasons for not disclosing their identity to the public?

10. What does the doctrine of ministerial responsibility state?

A.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

Authority shows the man.

‘For forms of government let fools contest, whatever is best administered is best.’

Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

A.3. Language Focus

A.3.1. The Present Perfect Tenses

Senior Civil servants have had years of experience as professional administrators.

Use

- the present perfect tenses relate past actions and activities to the present; they are used to express: 1. unfinished past

He has been a civil servant for 12 years. Scientists have been looking for a solution since the problem was discovered.

2. a past experience

Have you ever been to Switzerland? - the continuous is unusual in this use 3. the present result of a past event

A: Why have you got paint on your fingers? B: I’ve been painting the office.

4. present perfect simple or continuous?

- the present perfect simple focuses on the action as a whole, whereas the present perfect continuous expresses duration and activity over a period of time

I have read your book. (focus on completion) I have been reading your book. (focus on continuous activity)

Put the verbs in brackets in the appropriate present perfect tense (simple/continuous):

The Civil Service 1 .................... always .................... (be) notorious for being rather less

than open with the general public – the people whom it is supposed to serve – and 2

.................... instead .................... (develop) a reputation for being a closed system,

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hidden from the wide world which lies outside government circles. Between civil

servants and the public a barrier of sorts 3 .................... (erect) which is constructed from

a mixture of part secrecy and part manipulation of the truth.

In the past, this air of secrecy and arcane mystery which 4 .................... (pervade) the

Civil Service, along with the draconian discipline of the Official Secrets Act, 5

.................... (manage) to keep many salient facts about the country’s administration

away from the eyes and ears of the public at large.

A.3.2. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

Ministerial committees is the name 1 .................... to the network of committees – each

with 100 per cent 2 .................... servant membership – 3 .................... shadows the

organisational structure of cabinet committees, the latter of course having a mixed

membership of politicians and civil servants. These ‘shadow’ committees exist to co-

ordinate policy 4 .................... departments and 5 .................... resolve inter-departmental

disputes before the ministers of those departments meet in Cabinet or in Cabinet

committees. 6 .................... should incidentally be remembered 7 .................... Civil

Service participation in Cabinet committees, or if civil servants take 8 .................... in any

policy-making committee of ministers, that civil servants fall 9 .................... two quite

separate categories at these meetings. Some will be there in their own 10 ....................

with information or advice to contribute, 11 .................... others are there in the capacity

of secretariat – to keep minutes, draw 12 .................... the agenda etc.

A.3.3. Match the words below to their explanations using the following grid:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. department A the way an organisation operates

2. policy B legally binding agreement

3. manifesto C plan of action

4. convention D public declaration of principles and policy

5. tenure E holding of office

6. post F position of paid employment

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7. contract G general agreement

8. commitment H set of beliefs

9. doctrine I pledge

10. workings J each of several decisions of a government,

business, shop, university etc.

A.3.4. Fill in the blanks in the following text with an appropriate term from the list

below:

move out still both recently links job is

either knowledge likely very has made

One of the ways in which 1 .................... are built between the Civil Service and the more

competitive world of the private sector is by a civil servant’s opting to 2 .................... of

the Civil Service into the world of industry and commerce; 3 ..................... through a

retired civil servant taking a 4 .................... in the private sector after retirement or by

secondment to industry while 5 .................... remaining on the establishment strength of

the Home Civil Service. It 6 .................... no secret that it is very useful for a company’s

future planning if they have 7 .................... of the way the government has been thinking

8 .................... , together with some indication of the thrust 9 .................... to be taken by

the government’s future policy direction, 10 .................... for trade and industry in

general and for that specific company in particular. This 11 .................... senior civil

servants 12 .................... useful targets for the headhunters of industry and commerce.

Section B Workers Must Retire Later and Save More

Scheme options by Anne Ashworth

Whitehall must now take a reality check in light of the threat to its comfortably upholstered superannuation arrangements. Most private-sector workers were forced to downgrade* their pension expectations some years ago. For civil servants, this nasty shock has been delayed, as their schemes appeared immune to the cutbacks that have weakened private-sector funds. Like everyone else, civil servants must reconcile themselves to retiring later and saving more. Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown sums up the situation: ‘How do the civil servants get more benefits? The short answer is to stick more money into a pension.’

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Currently members of the Civil Service pension schemes have the option to boost* their pensions by buying added years, so increasing their years of service. It is not clear whether this concession will remain. Employees should, however, still be entitled* to make additional voluntary contributions into a plan managed by an insurance company. There are other options for extra saving. At present, those earning more than £30,000 a year are barred from putting money in more than one type of pension scheme. But from April 2006, under the new pension simplification regime, members of workplace retirement schemes will also be able to contribute to a private pension, such as a stakeholder, regardless of their earnings. A Sipp (self-invested personal pension plan), a more sophisticated species of pension, is another option for the mandarin who would like to invest in commercial property. Isas (individual savings accounts) represent another way for Whitehall workers to supplement their pensions. In the last week’s Pre-Budget Report, Mr. Brown issued* a reprieve* for these tax-efficient investment plans allowing individuals to invest up to £7,000 a year until 2009. The simplification rules will reform the current pension contribution limits. Any civil servant desperatly concerned about his retirement income prospects* can invest his entire earnings up to a limit of £215,000 in a pension. Higher limits apply in later years. This is an extreme solution, however. Under the proposed changes to the civil servants’ pension scheme, payouts will be based on average rather than final salary. Danny Vassiliades, principal at Punter Southall, the actuarial consultants, explains that high-flyers* will be most affected by this change as their earnings peak* towards the end of their brilliant careers. He notes: ‘For the plodders who receive basic increases every year of their career, averaging does not make that much difference.’ Other workers, who will envy even the reduced Whitehall arrangements can take heart: no mandarin will now ever willingly draw up* plans for withdrawal of any of the remaining tax reliefs. Phasing out of higher-rate tax relief on pension contributions? Oh no, minister.

The Times, December 7, 2004

B.1. Reading Comprehension

Are the following statements true or false?

1. Most public-sector workers were forced to downgrade their pension expectations

some years ago.

2. Civil servants get more benefits by sticking more money into a pension.

3. Members of the Civil Service pension schemes have the option to boost their

pensions by buying added years.

4. Those earning more than £25,000 a year are barred from putting money in more than

one type of pension.

5. From May 2006, members of workplace retirement schemes will be able to contribute

to a private pension.

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6. Sipp is the abbreviation for self invested permanent pension plan.

7. The simplification rules will reform the current pension contribution limits.

8. Any civil servant can invest his entire earnings up to a limit of £215,000 in a pension.

9. Under the proposed changes, payout will be based on average rather than final salary.

10. High flyers will not be affected by the change.

B.2. Talking Point

Enlarge Upon:

‘Mc Job: A low pay, low-prestige, low dignity, low benefit, no-future job in the service

sector .’

Douglas Coupland, Generation X

‘By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work

twelve hours a day.’

Robert Frost : attributed

‘Work banishes those three great evils: boredom, vice and poverty. ’

Voltaire, Candide

B.3. Language Focus

B.3.1. Choose the right explanation for each of the following words (with asterisks in the

text)

1. to downgrade A to reduce B to reconsider C to asses

2. to boost A to change B to increase C to choose

3. to be entitled A to have a right to B to be in a position to C to be forced to

4. to issue A to send out B to propose C to require

5. reprieve A postponement B question C impeachment

6. prospect A fortune B chance C limit

7. high flyer A highly placed person B pilot C ambitious person

8. to peak A reach the highest point B to dry out C to grow less

9. plodder A civil servant B hard working person C average worker

10. to draw up A to write out B to design C to come up with

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B.3.2. The word employee in the article is made up of the verb to employ and the ending

–ee. The suffix –ee:

1. combines with transitive verbs which describe actions to form nouns; nouns formed in this way refer to the person that the action is being done to

e.g. employee; trainee 2. combines with some verbs to form nouns which refer to someone who has performed a particular action

e.g escapee; absentee

Use the definitions to find words constructed in a similar way

1. person to whom a letter is addressed a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. person appointed to a job or a position a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3. person who is or has been deported d _ _ _ _ _ _ _

4. person who is detained d _ _ _ _ _ _ _

5. person who is interned i _ _ _ _ _ _ _

6. person who has a licence l _ _ _ _ _ _ _

7. person who is resplonsible for managing a trust t _ _ _ _ _ _

8. person who is absent a _ _ _ _ _ _ _

9. person who is devoted to something d _ _ _ _ _ _

10. person who has escaped e _ _ _ _ _ _

B.3.3. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

The Civil Service in Britain has its 1 .................... in the English curia regis, the ‘king’s 2

.................... ’ or royal household, and the first government departments had their origins

in the various divisions of servants looking 3 .................... the needs of that household.

The department of Chancery, 4 .................... the Lord Chancellor, was the king’s writing-

house where clerks wrote out the various writs, letters, deeds, charters and 5 ....................

documentation required to run the king’s affairs. The Exchequer was the king’s counting-

house, 6 .................... for the checkered cloth spread on the table on which the king’s

money 7 .................... counted: the check squares 8 .................... an arithmetic

convenience for the clerks, like a two-dimensional abacus. Over 9 .................... these two

departments became increasingly involved in the judicial and financial administration of

the kingdom, moving as a result out of the domestic into the 10 .................... domain.

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Other new domestic departments took their place in the household and these also, over

time, assumed a public role and in their turn 11 .................... to be replaced. The Middle

Ages saw a succession of administrative departments 12 .................... whose names

indicate their domestic origin and purpose – the Chamber, the Wardrobe, the Signet and

so forth.

Section C Translation

C.1. Translate into Romanian:

One of the main functions of the Civil Service is to implement government policy and it is therefore easy to understand why it should be that civil servants always look at government policy from the perspective of how easy or difficult it would be to put that policy into practice. A conservative policy which seeks to maintain the status quo is regarded as the ideal by civil servants because the conservative nature of the policy ensures that it has been tried before, perhaps many times before, and is probably a variant of the policy currently in force. Most importantly, previous experience of policies of this kind and the repetition of such experiences has shown that a policy works. Radical policies on the other hand are, per se, untried and untested and are therefore a leap in the dark as far as a government’s officials are concerned. To them an untried policy is a policy that might just possibly work but which is rather more likely not to do so. It therefore logically follows, not only that civil servants will always work extremely hard to implement a policy in which they can believe, but that they will work every bit as hard and every bit as long in order to thwart a policy in which they do not believe. As a former minister has said: The question that civil servants ask themselves when required to advise on implementing polemical proposals is not, ‘Do I agree with it?’ but, ‘Can it be made to work?’. If they think it can, they will help you to make it work. If they think it cannot, they will do their best to stop it. This is not a very heroic posture, and it can be very irritating, even maddening. Politicians who want to excite the country with imaginative proposals find them watered down in the interests of practicality. (Gerald Kaufmann, How to Be a Minister, London, 1997) The role taken by the Civil Service in policy formulation is therefore critical in that civil servants will attempt to shape the nature and purpose of a policy decision from start to finish, but, in order to undersrand the bureaucratic approach, it is necessary to know that the Civil Service sees its own role entirely from the perspective of a policy’s practical application, based on pragmatism rather than principle. The Civil Service in Britain Today, Colin Pilkington

C.2. Translate into English:

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Art. 2. – (1) Funcţia publică reprezintă ansamblul atribuţiilor şi responsabilităţilor, stabilite în temeiul legii, în scopul realizării prerogativelor de putere publică de către administraţia publică centrală şi locală. (2) Funcţionarul public este persoana numită, în condiţiile prezentei legi, într-o funcţie publică. Persoana căreia i-a încetat raportul de serviciu din motive neimputabile ei îşi păstrează calitatea de funcţionar public, continuând să facă parte din corpul de rezervă al funcţionarilor publici. (3)Activităţile desfăşurate de funcţionarii publici, care implică exercitarea prerogativelor de putere publică, sunt următoarele: a) punerea în executare a legilor şi a celorlalte acte normative; b) elaborarea proiectelor de acte normative şi a altor reglementări specifice autorităţii sau instituţiei publice, precum şi asigurarea avizării acestora; c) elaborarea proiectelor politicilor şi strategiilor, a programelor, a studiilor, analizelor şi statisticilor, precum şi a documentaţiei privind aplicarea şi executarea legilor, necesare pentru realizarea competenţei autorităţii sau instituţiei publice; d) consilierea , controlul şi auditul public intern; e) gestionarea resurselor umane şi a resurselor financiare; f) colectarea creanţelor bugetare; g) reprezentarea intereselor autorităţii sau instituţiei publice în raporturile acesteia cu persoane fizice sau juridice de drept public sau privat, din ţară şi străinătate, în limita competenţelor stabilite de conducătorul autorităţii sau instituţiei publice, precum şi reprezentarea în justiţie a autorităţii sau instituţiei publice în care îşi desfăşoară activitatea; h) realizarea de activităţi în conformitate cu strategia de informatizare a administraţiei publice. (4) Funcţiile publice sunt prevăzute în anexa la prezenta lege. (5) În sensul prezentei legi, totalitatea funcţionarilor publici din autorităţile şi instituţiile publice din administraţia publică centrală şi locală constituie corpul funcţionarilor publici. Art. 3. – Principiile care stau la baza exercitării funcţiei publice sunt: a) legalitate, imparţialitate şi obiectivitate; b) transparenţă; c) eficienţă şi eficacitate; d) responsabilitate, în conformitate cu prevederile legale; e) orientare către cetăţean; f) stabilitate în exercitarea funcţiei publice; g) subordonare ierarhică. Legea nr. 188/1999 privind statutul funcţionarilor publici

Section D Writing

Comment on:

He/She that puts on a public gown, must put off a private person.

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UNIT 7 THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION

Section A How to be a Eurocrat

The Civil Service Management Code states quite clearly, under the heading ‘Service with the European Institutions’: Departments and agencies should encourage staff with potential to consider service with the European institutions as part of their development training. Work in the institutions should normally be regarded as experience which will be valuable to the department or agency on the officer’s return. Recruitment for service with the EU bureaucracy is therefore encouraged by the Civil Service Establishment and entry to service in Europe is by way of the normal recruitment channels of the Home Civil Service, even though successful candidates who are offered permanent service with the EU are required to retire from the UK Civil Service immediately upon appointment and it might be thought that the Home Civil Service which had had the expense of training these civil servants might resent losing their services once they were trained. However, there is a source of national pride for member countries in getting as large a number of their citizens as possible into service with the Community’s institutions, competition for permanent places with the European institutions being very keen among would-be Eurocrates from all member nations. However, permanent service is not necessarily the main aim of either the applicants in question nor the Civil Service Establishment which has encouraged their application. It is equally as likely that, rather than seeking a permanent position, British applicants are looking for long- or short-term secondments to work in Europe, either for a specific purpose or simply to gain experience with European institutions as a career-building move, experience that can be useful both to the civil servants themselves and to the departments or agencies which employ them and to which they return after their time in Brussels or elsewhere in Europe. There are basically three types of secondment available to British servants: 1. The Stagiaire schemes offered by the European Commission’s Bureau des Stages in Brussels provide two 5-month periods of in-service training, known in English as ‘the Stage’, which involve work experience in the Commission together with lectures and visits to other institutions. The two courses are open to university graduates and public service employees below the age of thirty and run from 1 March and 1 October each year. Stagiaires recieve a cost of living allowance from the Commission. 2. The Detached National Expert schemes represent a specific form of secondment to the European Commission since here civil servants are recruited for their own particular

70

expertise which is placed at the disposal of the European institution for periods of one, two or up to three years. The greatest number of such secondments lies in the field of science and scientific research, recruitment being through the Directorate-General for Science, Research and Development. The seconded specialists will continue to be paid by their own departments but will also receive a living allowance from the European Commission. 3. There are a number of schemes, such as the Agent Temporaire and Auxiliare schemes, which offer temporary contracts for anything up to three years. These contracts are for specific employment within EU institutions such as the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice but most probably the Commission. The three factors that distinguish these people from permanent employees of the EU are: □ employment is for a fixed term, after which time the official returns to his or her own original employment in their home country. □ those seconded to Europe need not resign from their own department. Indeed their own departments are required to grant unpaid leave for the term of the secondment and to be prepared to re-employ them after their return from Europe. □ staff on secondment will continue to be paid by their home department or agency, who will also be responsible for superannuation payments. There is also a responsibility for ensuring that their living conditions do not suffer and many of those on secondment will be paid a cost of living allowance under the particular rules that the department or agency has for those of its employees posted overseas.

A permanent transfer to work for the Commission is a career move open to any British civil servant, who can apply for tranfer through the European Staffing Unit within the Cabinet Office or indeed by direct application to the Directorate-General for Personnel and Administration. However, since 1990 when the scheme was introduced, the normal method by which UK nationals qualify for employment as senior civil servants at category A of the EU bureucracy is through an application for and acceptance onto the European Fast Stream Programme. The Fast Stream recruitment programmes is a system of fast-track training and promotion of university graduates entering the Civil Service. These programmes have a part to play across the entire Civil Service but the European Fast Stream is of particular importance because it addresses two quite separate objectives in one single measure: the programme is primarily intended to increase the number of UK nationals working within the EU, but it simultaneously creates a substantial and influential section of the Home Civil Service which has considerable experience in dealing with European issues within a UK context. Applicants for the Fast Stream Programme do not have to be civil servants at the time of making their application, they need merely to be UK nationals, with a first or second class honours degree and aged no more than 41 at the time of entering the programme. The age limit is fixed at 41 because they aim to move on to work in Europe after a couple of years’ training and there is an upper age limit of 45 for anyone applying to work for the Commission or other EU institutions. There is no particular preference for one kind of degree rather than another, the European Fast Stream is as generalist as any other, but a degree in a suitable discipline such as law, economics, European or political studies or a

71

modern language is considered helpful, while reasonable fluency in a second EU language is also desirable, although candidates who are accepted will attend regular intensive language classes as part of their training programme. If accepted as a European Fast Streamer the applicant becomes a full time UK civil servant, working in a UK government department or agency but, the great difference is that their work has an emphasis on European policy issues, so they learn how the EU machinery works and how Brussels and Whitehall interact. The Civil Service in Britain Today, Colin Pilkington A.1 Reading Comprehension:

Choose the appropriate word(s) in italics for each of the following statements:

1. Recruitment for service with the EU bureaucracy is encouraged by the Civil Service

Organisation/Establishment/Corporation.

2. Entry to service/education/experience in Europe is by way of the normal recruitment

channels of the Home Civil Service.

3. British applicants are looking for long- or short-term secondments to work in France/

Germany/Europe.

4. There are three/four/six types of secondment available to British civil servants.

5. The Stagiaire schemes provide two 5-month periods of in/complex/adapted service.

6. The Detached National Expert schemes recruit civil servants/scientists/lawyers for

their own particular expertise.

7. The Agent Temporaire and Auxiliaire schemes offer temporary/permanent/specific

contracts.

8. Any civil servant can apply for transfer through the Eoropean Staffing Unit within the

Cabinet Office/Home Office/Foreign Office.

9. Applicants for the Fast Team Programme/System/Unit do not have to be civil servants

at the time of making their application.

10. If accepted as a European Fast Streamer, the applicant becomes a full time Union/

European/UK civil servant.

A.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘All professions are conspiracies against the laity.’

G. B. Shaw, The Doctor’s Dilemma

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‘The test of a vocation is the love of the drudgery it involves.’

Logan Pearsall Smith, Afterthoughts

A.3. Language Focus

A.3.1. The Past Perfect Tenses

It might be thought that the Home Civil Service which had had the expense of training

these civil servants might resent losing their services once they were trained.

The Simple Past Perfect

Use

1. the basic meanings of the simple past perfect are earlier past and completed in the past

When he entered the meeting room, the most important points of the new strategy had already been decided on.

2. unrealised hopes and wishes (after if, wish, would, rather)

If I had gone to a university, I would have studied international relations. I wish you had told me the truth. I’d rather she had asked before borrowing the phone.

The Past Perfect Continuous

Use 1. to emphasize the recentness and the duration of a continuous activity which took place before a particular time in the past

It was now six and he was tired because he had been working since dawn. 2. continuous and simple: differences

- progressive tenses are often used to talk about more temporary activities and situations; when one talks about longer lasting or permanent situations, simple tenses are preferred

By 6 pm he had written the report. (the report had been finished) By 6 pm he had been writing the report. (the report may or may not have been finished)

Complete the following sentences using the past perfect tenses:

1. The moment I entered the office I realised .............................. .

2. I first spoke to the minister last Friday. I .............................. .

3. When I came into the lecture room, .............................. .

4. We all knew .............................. .

5. None of these teachers understood how he .............................. .

6. I was told the examinees .............................. .

7. She wished .............................. .

8. We could have helped her if .............................. .

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9. By 9 pm .............................. .

10. I’d rather .............................. .

A.3.2. Provide illustrative contexts for each of the following items:

summit; commissioner; directive; regulation; implementation; directorate; single market;

single currency; to veto; to grant

A.3.3. Complete the following table with the corresponding verb(s), noun(s), or

adjective(s) where appropriate:

Noun Verb Adjective

entry

developmental

state

applicant

responsible

retire

recruitment

generalist

involve

disposal

A.3.4. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word:

The member states of the EU take 1 .................... to hold the Presidency of the EU, the

term for which the 2 .................... is held being six months. During 3 .................... time,

ministers from the presiding member 4 .................... chair the various Council meetings.

Ministers 5 .................... these meetings rely very heavily 6 ..................... national

officials to provide them with support, there being something of a dual servicing of the

presidency so that, at Council 7 ...................., the minister in the chair sits with officials 8

.......... the Brussels secretariat on one side, and his or her own 9 ..................... officials on

the other. The smooth running of European Council meetings 10 ..................... a matter of

pride for national officials and the relevant Permanent Representatives.

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Section B Brussels Seeks TV Makeover

Alfie Moon, the EastEnders market trader, could soon be informing his customers about the benefits of EU food safety legislation and Brussels consumer protection directives. It is all part of a European Commission plan to combat rising Euroscepticism. The Commission, announcing a long-waited ‘communications action plan’ yesterday, hopes to work with programme makers across the Continent to promote positive messages. Borrowing a UN tactic, it also intends to approach Europhile celebrities, such as the comedian Eddie Izzard, to act as ambassadors to sell the benefits of Brussels law- making. The Commission wants to make programmes, possibly quiz shows and docudramas, that sell the EU vision. The strategy was devised with the help of Peter Mendelson, The European Trade Commissioner and former new Labour spin-doctor. It involves hiring an army of ‘communication specialists’, running communications courses for its staff, training journalists and inviting them on trips with comissioners, and setting up focus groups to shape the way policies are promoted. There will also be a special rebuttal unit, aimed at the British media, to try to kill off misleading stories before people start believing them. There are 50 action points, the most ambitious of which is the abolition of Eurospeak, so that the public can understand what Eurocrats are saying. Mr Mandelson said that, after the two referendum defeats: ‘I sense that the Commission today has a golden opportunity to assert this fresh political leadership’. Anthony Browne, The Times, July 21, 2005

B.1. Reading Comprehension

Are the following statements true or false?

1. The European Commission has devised a plan to combat rising Euroscepticism.

2. The Commission hopes to work with programme makers across the Continent.

3. Borrowing a US tactic, it intends to approach Europhile celebrities.

4. The plan includes making programmes that sell the EU vision.

5. The European Human Rights Commissioner was involved in devising the strategy.

6. The strategy focuses on communication.

7. There are groups set up to shape the way policies are promoted.

8. The British Media will be closely monitored.

9. The strategy has 40 action points.

10. The main objective is the abolition of Eurospeak.

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B.2. Talking Point

Enlarge upon:

‘Today words have become battles. The right words, battles won; the wrong words,

battles lost.’

Erich von Ludendorff

‘Television: the key to all minds and hearts because it permits people to be entertained by

their government without ever having to participate in it.’

Richard Condon, Observer, June 10, 1990

B.3. Language Focus.

B.3.1. Phrasal verbs SET

The strategy involves hiring an army of communication specialists and setting up focus

groups to shape the way policies are promoted.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate missing item. Choose from the list:

about aside back forth out against apart up off down

1. The government must set .................... finding solutions to the country’s economic

problems.

2. You must set the initial cost of a new car .................... the saving you’ll make on

repairs.

3. Her clear and elegant prose sets her .................... from most other journalists.

4. The judge’s decision was set .................... by the Appeal Court.

5. Financial problems have set .................... our building programme.

6. Why don’t you set your ideas .................... on paper?

7. The Prime Minister set .................... the aims of his government in a television

broadcast.

8. Panic on the stock market set .................... a wave of selling.

9. He set .................... his objections to the scheme.

10. The government has set .................... a working party to look into the problem of drug

abuse.

B.3.2. Choose the word A, B or C which best completes each sentence:

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1. The Secretariat is .................... with the translation of EU documents into the

languages of the community.

A taken up B filled C overwhelmed

2. The Council of Ministers is the guiding hand and legislative .................... of the

Community.

A part B body C direction

3. The bureaucracy of the EU is provided by secondment .................... the bureaucracies

of the member states.

A of B from C with

4. The .......... of EU membership on the UK has grown ever greater over the years.

A influence B impact C role

5. Legal .................... are issued by the Commission and have to be dealt with by the

Home Civil Service.

A bonds B devices C instruments

6. When a minister .................... a Council meeting, they will be accompanied by a team

of civil servants.

A takes part B participates C attends

7. The British representatives are .................... the most part regarded as being senior

diplomats.

A by B for C at

8. The permanent representative is a .................... diplomat from the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office.

A would be B career C promising

9. All commissioners have a small group of aides or advisers known as their cabinet to

.................... in their work.

A assist B focus C motivate

10. The commission administration is divided into policy responsibilities, .................... to

government ministries.

A alike B similar C like

B.3.3. Fill in the blanks in the following text with an appropriate term from the list:

77

representatives how policy ultimately ambassadors role

status working line own processes EU

As a group of permanent 1 .................... to the EU from each member state, and an

institution which plays an important and decisive 2 .................... in the functioning of the

EU, the Committee of Permanent Representatives, or Coreper as it is popularly known,

often exerts tremendous influence on EU 3 .................... . Comprising the EU states’ 4

.................... to Brussels and serviced by the small Council of Ministers’ secretariat

general, Coreper is the last 5 .................... of official-level decision-making before

proposals reach EU ministers. Although its members are 6 ..................... accountable to

their member states’ governments , with the 7 ..................... of diplomats or civil servants,

with clear guidelines from their national capitals on 8 .................... to approach any issue,

Coreper has wide-ranging abilities to negotiate deals within the 9 .................... legislative

process and therefore plays a much wider role in the policy-making and decision-taking

10 .................... than would be normal for officials if they were 11 .................... according

to the practices of their 12 .................... countries of origin.

Section C Translation

C.1. Translate into Romanian:

First and foremost in the European involvement of British civil servants is their role in implementing EU secondary legislation as it applies to the UK. Secondary legislation means all those legal instruments devised and issued by the Commission of the EU to administer the policies laid down by the Council of Ministers, legislation which is then passed to national governments for acceptance and implementation. The types of legal instrument issued to national governments for implementation include: Regulations, which become immediately effective as law within the member states without the need for any national legislation to endorse them nor indeed any need to change the form of the regulation as it was determined in Brussels. However, although regulations become law in the form that was agreed in Brussels the Civil Service of a member state is free to suggest that additional legislation may be required for greater effectiveness, and it is then the task of the domestic civil servants of the member state to suggest and make the necessary modifications. Directives, which are not as complete and detailed as regulations. In essence they consist of policy objectives that are binding on member governments but which do not have a specific form dictated by the Commission. The method by which the objectives

78

are to be achieved is left to the discretion of national governments and the formulation of that method is left open to the bureaucracies of those national governments. Decisions, which are not directed to all member states but are specifically directed at one country, firm, organisation or individual. Because these decisions are very specific they are often administrative rather than legislative acts and as a result have very little to do with officials in the member states. The Civil Service in Britain Today, Colin Pilkington

C.2. Translate into English:

Art. 42. – (1) Funcţionarii publici au obligaţia să îşi îndeplinească cu profesionalism, imparţialitate şi în conformitate cu legea îndatoririle de serviciu şi să se abţină de la orice faptă care ar putea aduce prejudicii persoanelor fizice sau juridice ori prestigiului corpului funcţionarilor publici. (2) Funcţionarii publici de conducere sunt obligaţi să sprijine propunerile şi iniţiativele motivate ale personalului din subordine, în vederea îmbunătăţirii activităţii autorităţii sau instituţiei publice în care îşi desfăşoară activitatea, precum şi a calităţii serviciilor publice oferite cetăţenilor. (3) Funcţionarii publici au îndatorirea de a respecta normele de conduită profesională şi civică prevăzute de lege. Art. 43. – (1) Funcţionarii publici au obligaţia ca, în exercitarea atribuţiilor ce le revin, să se abţină de la exprimarea sau manifestarea publică a convingerilor şi preferinţelor lor politice, să nu favorizeze vreun partid politic şi să nu participe la activităţi politice în timpul programului de lucru. (2) Funcţionarilor publici le este interzis să facă parte din organele de conducere ale partidelor politice. Art. 44 – (1) Funcţionarii publici răspund, potrivit legii, de îndeplinirea atribuţiilor ce le revin din funcţia publică pe care o deţin, precum şi a atribuţiilor ce le sunt delegate. (2) Funcţionarul public este obligat să se conformeze dispoziţiilor primite de la superiorii ierarhici. (3) Funcţionarul public are dreptul să refuze, în scris şi motivat, îndeplinirea dispoziţiilor primite de la superiorul ierarhic, dacă le consideră ilegale. Dacă cel care a emis dispoziţia o formulează în scris, funcţionarul public este obligat să o execute, cu excepţia cazului în care aceasta este vădit ilegală. Funcţionarul public are îndatorirea să aducă la cunoştinţă superiorului ierarhic al persoanei care a emis dispoziţia, astfel de situaţii. Legea nr. 188/1999 privind statutul funcţionarilor publici

Section D Writing

Comment on:

For or against? The United States of Europe is a fine ideal.

79

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2005