Glossary

Centre, The

An imprecise term denoting the people, institutions and arrangements that determine the direction of the State sector, exercise control over it or monitor it. There is no single definition of 'the centre' and its meaning changes depending on the context in which it is used: in discussing a single organisation, the centre might mean head office, or the senior management group; in discussing the State sector, the centre might mean the Cabinet and the central agencies, and the monitoring department.