Records of the Civil Service Department

The Civil Service Department was set up on 1 November 1968 following a recommendation of the (Fulton) Committee on the Civil Service. The Prime Minister became Minister for the Civil Service and so took responsibility for the work of the Department, but day-to-day responsibility was vested in the Lord Privy Seal. Parliamentary secretaries were appointed between 1970 and 1974 and a Minister of State in October 1974.

The Department was dissolved in December 1981 and its functions distributed between the Treasury and a new Management and Personnel Office (MPO) under the control of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The MPO was assimilated into the Cabinet Office in 1982.

On being set up, and during its existence, the Department took over some of the functions of other departments as well as their responsibilities for existing bodies, as follows:

1968, from Treasury's Pay and Management Group: Civil Service pay, pensions and conditions of service; also co-ordination of government policy on pay and pensions throughout the public sector.1968, from Treasury: duties relating to personnel and management services, including manpower strategy and control, Organisation and Methods (O & M) surveys, statistics, training, provision of medical advisory service and welfare; also dispersal and location of government offices, and advice on accommodation standards. 1981 to MPO.1968, from Treasury: Ceremonial Branch. 1981 to MPO.1968, from Treasury: vote for the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. 1981 returned to Treasury.1968, Civil Service Commission, which operated within its Recruitment and Selection Group, but remained independent of ministerial control in the field of selections for appointments. 1981 to MPO.1968, from Treasury: Catering Advisory Service.1969, from Ministry of Technology: Directorate of Catering. 1972 amalgamated with Catering Advisory Service to form Civil Service Catering Organisation (CISCO). 1981 to Treasury.1969, central training at the Civil Service College. 1981 to MPO.1972, from Treasury: Central Office of Information and Stationery Office.1972, from the Ministry of Defence's Procurement Executive: Chessington Computer Centre.1972, Central Computer Agency was established. 1979 name changed to Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA). 1981 to Treasury.1973, from Treasury: Government Actuary's Department. 1981 returned to Treasury.1974, from Ministry of Housing and Construction, took responsibility for Government Hospitality Fund. 1981 to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.