Central Policy Review Staff
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Central Policy Review Staff (CPRS), nicknamed the "Think-Tank", was an independent unit within the
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...
of the United Kingdom tasked with developing long term strategy and co-ordinating policy across government departments. It was established by
Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...
in February 1971 but was later disbanded by
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
following the 1983 general election. The CPRS was created in response to ''The Reorganisation of Central Government''
white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...
published in October 1970. It had four directors over its 12-year lifetime; Lord Rothschild (1971–1974), Sir Kenneth Berrill (1974–1980), Sir Robin Ibbs (1980–1982) and John Sparrow (1982–1983). Three of the Directors worked in the commercial sector; Rothschild was head of research at
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
, Ibbs was a director of
Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...
and Sparrow was a banker at Morgan Grenfell. Berrill had spent twenty years as an academic economist at Cambridge University before working for the Treasury. The unit was always small, intentionally, never being more than 20 in number plus support staff. The average secondment was two years although a small number stayed longer. Its composition was a mix of academic, Whitehall civil servants and business (particularly the oil business, all from Shell or BP) Three of the four Prime Ministers served by the CPRS felt it did a worthwhile job.
Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...
believed the CPRS was an important part of his government. "Their work was invariably thoroughly researched and well presented. I regard the CPRS as one of the best innovations of my years at No. 10. As a group which advised ministers collectively, it helped to maintain the cohesion of the government."
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
had a positive view of the CPRS and he commented in his book The Governance of Britain "It was set up by our predecessors but we have found it very valuable and have continued it." Equally
James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...
thought well of the unit saying in his autobiography; "To my regret, and I believe to her loss, the unit was disbanded by Mrs Thatcher."
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
had a rather different view of the CPRS by 1983. "The CPRS had originally been set up by Ted Heath as a source of long-term policy advice for the Government at a time when there were fewer private think-tanks, fewer special advisers in government and a widespread belief that the great questions of the day could be resolved by specialized technical analysis. But a government with a firm philosophical direction was inevitably a less comfortable environment for a body with a technocratic outlook." Upon its abolition, some of the functions of the CPRS were transferred to the Downing Street policy unit.


The Review of Overseas Representation

The most controversial report by the CPRS was The Review of Overseas Representation published in August 1977. The concept of the review was initiated by the CPRS in late 1975 and was taken up by the Foreign Secretary,
James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...
, who asked for the review to be extended to the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and the
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...
. Callaghan also asked the CPRS to undertake the review. However, according to Joe Haines (Press Secretary to Prime Minister
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
) even before the proposals were shown to Callaghan the Foreign Office intervened: "the document he eventually saw, and approved, was modified – or doctored – on the way to his desk. The original proposals were not acceptable to senior F.C.O. officials, and the head of the C.P.R.S., Sir Kenneth Berrill, was asked to make deletions before it was put to the Secretary of State. That was agreed. The document placed before Jim Callaghan was not the original one." The report was written by June 1977, shown to Ministers and published in August. There had been a mixed response from the Foreign Office during the review, the most notable and possibly most critical came from Sir Nicholas Henderson the Ambassador to France, although
Anthony Parsons Sir Anthony Derrick Parsons (9 September 1922 – 12 August 1996) was a British diplomat, ambassador to Iran at the time of the Iranian Revolution and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Permanent Representa ...
in Tehran was more supportive of the CPRS's work. Its conclusions and recommendations were radical and on publication met with a barrage of criticism from supporters of the various organisations being reviewed. There was a debate in the House of Lords in November 1977 with contributions from members with connections to the British Council, the BBC as well as the Foreign Office. A House of Commons Select Committee also investigated the review and published their findings. The orchestration of a critical campaign against the Review and the CPRS by the Foreign Office had started before its publication and is indicated by Bernard Donoughue in his diary entry for 7 February 1977: "Had lunch with
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
journalist Richard Leonard – who told me that somebody from the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) had got the editor ( Andrew Knight) of ''The Economist'' to 'doctor' an article so it was savagely critical of the (still unfinished!) CPRS report on the FCO. The machine is absolutely unprincipled in defending its interests."Bernard Donoughue (2008) Downing Street Diary Vol Two p.142


References

{{Authority control Cabinet Office (United Kingdom) British Prime Minister's Office Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Public policy in the United Kingdom 1971 establishments in the United Kingdom 1983 disestablishments in the United Kingdom