Public Service Management Act, 1997

Assignment of responsibility in respect of cross-departmental matters.

12.—(1) A Minister of the Government having charge of an office (being a Department or a Scheduled Office) may, jointly with a Minister of the Government having charge of another such office or other such offices after consultation with the Secretary General or Head of each Department or, as the case may be, Scheduled Office concerned, by order assign to one or more civil servants responsibility for the performance of functions in relation to matters that pertain to the offices aforesaid concerned as may be specified in the order or in any order made by those Ministers of the Government in substitution therefor.

(2) A function of the Minister of the Government under this section may be delegated to a Minister of State under section 2 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1977 , only as respects other functions of that Minister of the Government standing delegated to that Minister of State under the said section 2.

(3) An assignment by Ministers of the Government under subsection (1) of responsibilities for the performance of functions shall be construed as reserving to those Ministers of the Government the right to perform those functions concurrently with the assignees.

(4) An order under subsection (1) shall specify the manner in which the civil servants to which the order relates shall be accountable for the carrying out of the responsibilities concerned and, where the Minister for Finance has agreed (which he or she is hereby authorised to do) that those responsibilities are to include functions pertaining to the utilisation of financial resources related to the carrying out of those responsibilities, the Minister for Finance may specify the manner in which the civil servants concerned shall be accountable for such utilisation.

(5) An order made by Ministers of the Government under subsection (1) shall specify the date when the assignment made thereby shall cease and may be amended or revoked by the Ministers of the Government before that date.