PM should be 'more accountable'

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Political power is too centralised with the prime minister and Downing Street needs to be more accountable, a committee of peers has said.

The House of Lords constitution committee said the prime minister's twice-yearly appearance before a senior Commons committee was inadequate.

Senior civil servants in No 10 should also be scrutinised more closely by Parliament, the report said.

It called for the permanent secretary to face parliamentary questioning.

The report said "structures of accountability should mirror structures of power" and the role of the PM should be mirrored by "increased transparency" and "more effective accountability".

'Ill-defined'

"Whilst we welcome the biannual appearance by the prime minister before the House of Commons liaison committee, we do not believe that this goes far enough in securing the parliamentary accountability of the prime minister's office," it said.

The PM's office and its permanent secretaries should be "subject to appropriate parliamentary accountability mechanisms".

The Cabinet Office was also being used as a "dustbin" for various policy units "for which no other home could be found", the report claimed.

It was "constitutionally important" the Cabinet Office was "properly held to account".

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Office minister - currently Tessa Jowell - were "ill-defined" and should be reviewed to ensure they "accurately reflect and account for the strategic role that the Cabinet Office plays", peers said.

On the Cabinet Office website, only her roles overseeing the 2012 Olympics and humanitarian assistance were referred to, they complained.

'Messy' procedure

The committee also criticised a failure to comply with "proper constitutional norms" when Tony Blair unexpectedly announced he was abolishing the historic post of Lord Chancellor in 2003.

Mr Blair recently conceded that the procedure had been "messy".

The report said premiers should be forced to consult Parliament before making a "constitutional change of great significance" to the machinery of government.

The House of Lords committee focused on changes in government since Labour was elected in 1997, but concluded all political parties should bear its recommendations in mind in the lead-up to the general election.