Higher Civil Service Grade 5 Admin flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Ultra vires

A Latin maxim meaning beyond the powers. An administrative act is ultra vires when the body exceeds the authority granted by statute or a higher norm, making the act invalid.

Proportionality three-step test

A measure must be suitable for its aim, necessary as the least restrictive means available, and proportionate in the narrow sense after balancing the burden against the benefit.

Audi alteram partem

Hear the other side. A person affected by an administrative decision must be given notice and a genuine opportunity to present their case before the decision is taken.

Void versus voidable act

A void act produces no legal effect from the outset and needs no annulment. A voidable act remains effective until annulled by a competent authority within the appeal period.

Constitutional supremacy

The constitution ranks above all other norms. Any statute or regulation inconsistent with it is invalid, and courts or a constitutional court enforce that hierarchy through review.

Rule of law (Dicey)

No punishment without a legal basis, equality of all before the law, and protection of rights through ordinary courts rather than discretionary or special tribunals.

Essential content of a right

A core of a fundamental right that the legislature may never empty, even for a legitimate aim; any limitation must leave the right practically effective.

Primary budget balance

Total government revenue minus total expenditure excluding interest payments on public debt. It shows whether current policy covers its costs before inherited debt charges.

Universality of the budget

All public revenue and expenditure must be recorded in a single budget document without netting off; gross figures preserve legislative control and transparency.

Annuity versus annuality

Annuality limits authorisation and spending to one fiscal year; unspent funds lapse. Annuity refers to a fixed stream of periodic payments, not to the budget period.

Debt-to-GDP ratio

Gross public debt divided by nominal GDP, expressed as a percentage. It falls when nominal growth exceeds the effective interest rate on the debt.

Pigouvian tax

A tax set equal to the marginal external cost at the socially optimal output level, used to internalise negative externalities such as pollution into private costs.

Samuelson condition

For efficient provision of a public good, the sum of all individuals' marginal rates of substitution must equal the marginal rate of transformation between the good and other goods.

Deadweight loss of taxation

The efficiency loss from a tax that distorts behaviour, approximately half the tax rate squared times elasticity times quantity; it grows faster than the rate.

Moral hazard versus adverse selection

Moral hazard is hidden action after contracting, such as reduced care once insured. Adverse selection is hidden information before contracting, such as high-risk buyers seeking cover.

Conflict of interest recusal

An official with a private interest, or a close relative's interest, in a matter must declare it and withdraw from decision-making, voting, and access to related information.

Accountability types

Political accountability to the legislature, legal accountability to courts, administrative accountability up the hierarchy, professional accountability to peers, and social accountability to citizens.

Post-employment cooling-off period

A set period after leaving public office during which a former official may not lobby or take employment with entities they recently regulated or contracted with.

Standard error of the mean

The standard deviation of the sample mean, equal to the sample standard deviation divided by the square root of the sample size; it shrinks as the sample grows.

Laspeyres price index

A price index using base-period quantities as weights. It tends to overstate the cost of living because it ignores substitution toward goods whose relative prices fell.

Type I and Type II error

Type I rejects a true null hypothesis, a false positive controlled by the significance level. Type II fails to reject a false null, a false negative linked to statistical power.

Compound annual growth rate

The constant yearly rate that moves a series from its start to its end value over a number of years, computed as the ratio to the power of one over the years, minus one.

Plain-language drafting rule

One idea per sentence, active voice when the actor is known, defined terms used consistently, and no nominalisations that conceal who must do what.

Briefing note structure

Purpose, background, options with advantages and disadvantages, a clear recommendation, and next steps with owners and deadlines, all on the first page where possible.

Minutes of a meeting

A formal record stating date, attendees, agenda items, decisions taken, dissent where relevant, and action owners with deadlines; not a verbatim transcript.

Sampling error and sample size

Random variation between a sample estimate and the population value. It falls with the square root of sample size, so quadrupling the sample halves the error.

Affirming the consequent

A logical fallacy: if A then B; B is true; therefore A. It is invalid because other causes of B may exist, so the conclusion does not follow necessarily.

Legitimate expectation

Arises from a clear, consistent, authorised representation by an official. Withdrawal may require consultation or transitional measures where reliance is reasonable.

Accrual versus cash accounting

Accrual records revenue and obligations when they arise; cash records them when money moves. The two produce different deficit and debt figures for the same year.

Coase theorem

With clear property rights and zero transaction costs, affected parties bargain to an efficient outcome regardless of the initial allocation of the right.

Principal-agent problem

The agent's interests diverge from the principal's and the principal cannot fully observe effort. Remedies include monitoring, incentive contracts, and reporting duties.

Bayes theorem applied to tests

The probability of a condition given a positive test equals the true positive rate times the base rate, divided by the total probability of a positive result.