Contents. Acknowledgements. Prologue: Some Crises of the 1980s. 1. Charting the Territory. 2. How Things Came to Be. 3.

Some Facts and Figures. 4. The Universal Department. 5. Recruitment and Training. 6. Conditions of Service. 7.

The Working Context. 8. Ministers and Civil Servants. 9. The Public Face of Private Government. 10. Slimmer and Fitter: the Quest for Efficiency and Effectiveness. 11.

The Civil Service at the Crossroads?. 12. The 'Next Steps' Programme. Notes. Select Bibliography. Index.