Examination of witness (Questions 820
- 832)
WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL 2000
THE LORD
FALCONER OF
THOROTON
820. Forgive me, my Lord, but I have grave suspicions
that nobody in Whitehall knows what a silo is, but I am prepared
to be corrected on that. I still am not clear what revolutionary
abilities, policies, machinery you are going to bring together
which has not existed before and has not been properly used.
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) I do not suggest it is
revolutionary—
821. I am sorry, forgive me. Revolutionary!
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) What we hope to bring
is a means by which departments are forced to focus on the issue;
how does this particular, for example, area based initiative contribute
to the overall effect of the regions of government policy.
Mrs Gorman
822. I understand your bubbling enthusiasm for
this wonderful new cause and it is jaded people like me who remember
similar initiatives in the past, like doing something about deregulation
and that wonderful unit which was going to co-ordinate across
but got its knuckles rapped every time it put a foot inside one
of the department's doors. What authority do you perceive you
are going to need to overcome that driving initiative which makes
a Minister get up on a Monday morning and want a sound bite for
himself on the Today programme? Because that is what you
are going to be having to do.
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) The Government as a whole
has accepted the recommendations of the PIU Report, so it is now
Government policy. As a Government we want to achieve what is
best and what is going to make the most impact in relation to
the regions. The way we seek to achieve this is to set up a process
by which before policy initiatives are agreed by the Government
they have to go through the Regional Co-ordination Unit so there
can be a focus on the extent to which they contribute to impacting
on the regions or locally.
823. What power will you have to implement that
though to overcome a Minister's desire to get on the Today
programme and tell us about his latest wonderful scheme?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) The Government has accepted
the PIU Report as Government policy. We have agreed collectively
this should be the approach we take.
824. Does this not mean a whole new culture
for Secretaries of State?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) No, I do not think it
does. What it means is that before policies are announced—not
all policies but those which impact regionally or locally—there
has to be consideration of what their effect will be on the regions.
A process is put up whereby you have to consider that aspect of
things before there is agreement on the policy and that seems
sensible.
825. Can I just ask one other supplementary
question which is out of my own head rather than read on paper?
We have heard about joined-up government, the two-way street and
going up and down on the piece, what about the grown-up government?
Do you not think that there is a role in any of this wonderful
planning for enterpreneurs to do something in urban regeneration?
We have heard practically nothing about that this morning. Because
they are the people who actually begin to turn things round, are
they not; private sector locally?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) They have a huge—
826. What is your thinking about that? It does
not seem to appear in your plans at all.
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) They will very frequently
be players in local strategic partnerships designed to deliver
regeneration in particular areas. They play a hugely important
part in the role of the Regional Development Agencies. All of
the Regional Development Agencies which this Government set up
have been chaired by people who are experienced in business. So
we very, very fully appreciate the very important role of entrepreneurship
and the private sector in regenerating the regions in this country.
Mr Gray
827. This may seem like a light-hearted question
but, nonetheless, I think it is quite a serious one. Listening
carefully to you and very patiently, it does sound just exactly
like the setting up in the first episode of Yes, Minister
of the Department for Ministerial Administrative Affairs, completely
meaningless, does absolutely nothing at all but keeps a few civil
servants happy and keeps a couple of Ministers off the streets.
Is that an unreasonable parallel?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) I think it a wholly unreasonable,
negative and cynical approach to what is a very, very important
issue. If you take that approach, Mr Gray, it is not surprising
that in a sense you are sitting on the side lines because it seems
to me that there are these problems which the PIU Report identified,
namely if you want to make a difference in regions and in localities
you have to focus the money that Central Government is spending
effectively. I hope that this Regional Co-ordination Unit and
the recommendation which has been accepted will make some significant
difference to that. I certainly think it is very worthwhile trying
as best we can to make it effective. You can be cynical if you
like on the edges but I think we just have to roll up our sleeves
and try and make that difference.
Chairman
828. I will lower my level of cynicism. You
have put a great deal of faith in the Government Offices in the
Regions, what career structure do you see for the people in those
offices? Are they sent out from Whitehall from a particular department
to spend a couple of years in a regional office and then get back
to the safety and comfort of Whitehall?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) In the last two months
I have been round every single one of these regional offices and
the people who work in the regional offices are incredibly impressive
and they vary from some people who have decided they want to come
away from the centre and work full-time in the regions, to other
people who have come in for a period of time with a view to going
back, to other people who have been recruited to the regional
offices. What one wants is a strong sense of working in a regional
office is a worthwhile career move in the Civil Service. There
should be as much interchange as possible between headquarters'
parts of departments and regional offices because the more interchange
and the stronger the sense it is a good career move, the more
effective the Government will be.
829. Would it not be helpful to make it clear
that anyone expecting to get a senior job in any government department
should have spent some time in the regions?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) It is a matter for the
Civil Service rather than Government Ministers to determine what
counts in your favour in relation to career prospects, but I know
from speaking to senior civil servants that being in a Government
Office is regarded as a good thing.
830. It is considered to be a very good thing
for somebody else, but how many of the people at the top have
actually been there?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) In Goverment Offices?
831. No, in the senior ranks of the Civil Service
how many have actually served in regional offices?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) I do not know what the
answer to that is.
832. Would you like to perhaps make a few enquiries?
(Lord Falconer of Thoroton) I will certainly make
a few enquiries. There is one permanent secretary at the moment
who was head of a regional office but I should tell you that regional
office was London.
Chairman: But of course! On that note, thank
you very much indeed.
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