Recommendation 24

The role of accounting officer is a valuable aspect of the constitution. To be effective, this function relies on the impartiality of permanent secretaries and their ability to ‘speak truth to power’. A shift towards a system of senior civil servant appointments or departures with a greater degree of ministerial influence would risk having a chilling effect on accounting officer functions to the detriment of the public interest. (Paragraph 155) Permanent secretaries in devolved administrations