The Public Service is the core of the permanent administrative machinery of the Government of Malta. Its mission is:

• To offer policy advice to the Government

• To implement Government policies and to administer legislation efficiently and effectively

• To deliver services to the public impartially, without errors and in a customer-friendly manner.

The Public Service is part of the wider public sector, but the two are not the same. Broadly speaking, the Public Service consists of staff recruited under the authority of the Public Service Commission (in legal parlance, public officers) who serve in Ministries and Departments and are subject to a common framework of rules and regulations.

The wider public sector includes many public corporations, statutory authorities and other entities which are not part of the Public Service. Teachers in state schools, for instance, are public officers; university lecturers are not. Police officers are also members of the Public Service, but soldiers are not.

The Public Service has undergone a wide-ranging programme of reform over the last decade to improve its efficiency and responsiveness to Government and to the public. The Service has led the way in Malta in its application of information and communications technologies (ICT). The Service boasts a state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure which has served as the springboard for electronic government. Standards of service to the public are being improved thanks to this investment in ICT as well as the Quality Service Charter initiative. Senior public officers are held accountable for results through a system of renewable performance-based contractual appointments. Those who do not perform to a sufficient level face non-renewal of their appointments.

The Service offers potential recruits a dynamic work environment with a variety of work and a potential for self-development that are unparalleled in this country.

Reform remains an ongoing process, but the Public Service has already proven its ability to adapt itself and deliver the goods. For instance, Malta's application for membership of the European Union placed huge demands on Ministries and Departments both before and after membership. The overall level of success with which this programme has been carried out shows that Maltese public officers can hold their own with those of any other European state. This has also become evident in local public officers' dealings with their counterparts in Brussels and elsewhere.

Change is an ongoing process and legislation currently under discussion in Parliament proposes major developments.  The Public Administration Bill proposes to strengthen the leadership of the Public Service and to introduce more flexibility in the management of government departments. The Bill will establish a legal framework for the organisation and management of the Service. It provides for:

• the strengthening of the leadership of the Public Service, with a clear definition of the roles of the Principal Permanent Secretary and individual Permanent Secretaries;

• the devolution of management powers to heads of department, subject to scrutiny by the Public Service Commission;

• the establishment of a Senior Executive Service consisting of all senior managers in the Public Service.

The Bill lays down a set of values of public administration and establishes a legal basis for the Code of Ethics for public employees. It makes clear that both the values and the Code are enforceable through disciplinary measures. There is also a provision on the protection of whistleblowers.

The Bill also applies to public entities outside the Public Service. It extends the applicability of the values of public administration and the Code of Ethics to such entities. It also establishes a Merit Protection Commission which will ensure that the staffing process in such bodies follows the merit principle. The Bill also provides for the creation of agencies, a new organizational form which combines management flexibility with strong accountability mechanisms.