Civil Service (United Kingdom) from the Treasury, and given to a new Department, and that the "fast stream" recruitment process for accessing the upper echelons should be made more flexible, to encourage candidates from less privileged backgrounds. The new Department was set up by Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labour Government in 1968 and named the Civil Service Department, known as CSD. The first Minister was Cabinet Minister Lord Shackleton, also Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal. The first Permanent Secretary was Sir William Armstrong, who moved over from his post as Permanent Secretary at the Treasury. After the 1970 General
Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland provision was finally rescinded by the Civil Service (Employment of Married Women) Act, 1973. In 2004 the Office of the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commissioners was abolished and replaced by two separate bodies, the Commission for Public Service Appointments, a standards-setting body, and the Public Appointments Service, a central recruitment agency for the Civil Service. Since this time government departments have been allowed to recruit directly, though most still avail of the services of the PAS. All civil servants are expected to be impartial, and to act within the law. A member of the Civil Service is expected to