Devolution reinforces functional de

Devolution reinforces functional decentralization with devided political authority.
Devolution to the English regions will not take place in the life this Parliament.
But RDAs have not stilled the clamour of regional voices for devolution.So, political
decentralization remains on the political agenda and the civil service may soon confront
a patchwork quilt of regional assembles and directly elected mayors in England (as
well as Scotland, Wales and Northern lreland) with new machinery of government to
manage intergovernmental relations both for domestic matters and the EU. Diplomatic
skill in intergovernmental bargaining will become a prominent part of a civil servant’s
repertoire.Britain will get a taste of the federal-provincial diplomacy so characteristic of
other Westminster systems such as Australia and Canada.In the words of the Head of the
Home Civil Service,Sir Richard Wilson (1998) ,the civil service aare going to have to learn
skills that we haven’t learned before.In short,the networking skills increasingly required
to manage service delivery will also be at a premium tin managing the intervovernment
relations of devolved Britain. The task is to manage packages, packages of services,of
organizations generally and of governments in particular.