New Clause 1 - Requirement of oath or affirmation
Crown Employment (Nationality) Bill
4:45 pm
Mr Douglas Alexander (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Cabinet Office; Paisley South, Labour)
The Government cannot accept the new clause tabled by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield. He spoke with candour about some of the difficulties he faced and about the drafting changes. It is an important subject that is worth discussing, notwithstanding the fact that my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon has covered much of the ground that I shall cover.
Section 4.1.1 of the civil service management code states:
''Civil servants are servants of the Crown and owe a duty of loyal service to the Crown as their employer. Since constitutionally the Crown acts on the advice of Ministers who are answerable for their departments and agencies in Parliament, that duty is . . . owed to the duly constituted Government.''
Of course, citizens of the European economic area and those employed under the aliens' certificate under the Aliens' Employment Act 1955 are currently employed in a civil capacity under the Crown by virtue of the exceptions made for the free movement of workers under European Community law. Commonwealth citizens are not required to swear any such allegiance by virtue of their status when taking up employment or holding office in a civil capacity under the Crown.
Our debate has got to the nub of the issue. The hon. Member for Beaconsfield may believe that the aims that he wishes to achieve with his new clause have merit, but I am not convinced that the Bill is the statutory vehicle through which to achieve them. If he still wants all civil servants to take an oath or affirmation, regardless of nationality, perhaps he should consider another vehicle by which he may bring that about.