Nothing to do with me?: Modernising ministerial accountability for decentralised public services

The accountability of ministers to parliament is an established, ambiguous concept in British governance. Our report focuses on how ministerial accountability will affect the government's plans to decentralise public services, looking at:

• recent cases of decentralisation - e.g. NHS foundation trusts and academy schools
• more established arrangements - e.g. the government's relations with universities.

We highlight challenges facing decentralising ministers, drawing out good practice for developing resilient systems and reflecting on parliament's ongoing oversight of decentralised services.