OUR PRINCIPLES

The need for Better Government

The BGI was established in 2007 as a response to growing concern about the poor quality of formation and implementation of government policies.

Strictly non-party

Our members are expert former practitioners in government with no political affiliations. We work closely with representatives of all three main parties in developing proposals for improving the operations of government and its links with Parliament.

Concerned with processes and procedures

We do not seek to make judgements about the political merits of government policies. We are concerned that the processes and procedures for developing and implementing them are fit for purpose:

• Were the initial proposals based on full information and sound analysis?

• Was there adequate consultation within and outside government, especially with those who will be responsible for implementing the policies?

• Did Parliament have enough information and time to perform its scrutiny role effectively?

Concrete recommendations

Our recommendations are set out in our comprehensive reports Good Government: Reforming Parliament and the Executive, (January 2010) and Good Government: Mid Term Review (November 2012).

We focus in particular on the need to establish explicit standards for the preparation and presentation to Parliament of legislation and other major policies