PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE RELATING
TO THE REPORT
WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2001
Members present:
Tony Wright, in the Chair
| Mr David Lepper | Mr Brian White
|
| Mr Michael Trend | Mr Anthony D Wright
|
| Mr Neil Turner | The Committee deliberated.
|
| Mr Andrew Tyrie |
|
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Draft Report (Making Government Work: The Emerging
Issues), proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.
Ordered, That the draft
Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraphs 1 to 10 agreed to.
Paragraph 11 read, as follows:
"The issue of maintaining and enhancing a local
strategic capacity for the whole governmental machine to act effectively
is the crucial one. On our visit to north east England many of
those we talked to told of the pressure put on local resources
both by the constant need to bid and rebid for central funds and
the requirement to comply with a plethora of inspection regimes
and externally-imposed targets. We heard complaints about the
lack of trust this implies. The problems of excessive centralism
have to be broken, both for democratic and delivery reasons. They
have started to be broken in Scotland, Wales and London, and this
process now needs to be extended in England. The twin imperatives
of performance and accountability seem to us to point inexorably
towards a system of elected regional government combined with
unitary local authorities. We hope that the Government will give
serious consideration to how it can speedily move this process
forward. There is also the issue of complexity: in a world of
partnerships, zones and area-based initiatives, there can be a
real problem for accountability if citizens do not know who is
responsible for the programmes that impact upon them. We believe
that this is an issue that requires more consideration than it
has so far received."
Amendment proposed, in line 5, to leave out from
"implies" to the end of the paragraph— (Mr
Andrew Tyrie.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 1 | Noes, 4
|
| Mr Andrew Tyrie | Mr David Lepper
|
| Mr Neil Turner
|
| Mr Brian White
|
| Mr Anthony D Wright
|
Paragraph agreed to.
Paragraph 12 read, as follows:
"One of the key principles of the 'Modernising
Government' programme is to 'value public service rather than
to denigrate it'. This switch of direction (now accepted by all
major parties) came against a background where in the 1990s it
was widely believed that the emphasis of government was on cutting
the cost of public services, privatising them, and criticising
the performance of public sector workers. We welcome the Government's
clear endorsement of the public service ideal. A shared ethical
commitment to this ideal across the public sector continues to
provide some of the underpinnings and guarantees for maintaining
and developing good performance and standards. However, it is
not enough to value public service ideals in an abstract way.
They need to be actively encouraged and positively cultivated.
We believe that there is much more that can and should be done
on this front. For example, we think that it might be helpful
for all public servants to be given a copy of a Public Service
Code, incorporating the 'seven principles of public life' developed
by the Committee on Standards in Public Life. We also think it
would be useful for all new staff of agencies or departments,
designated as 'public service' organisations, to receive appropriate
induction and training in what the ethos of public service entails
and implies. In his evidence to us David Walker argued the merits
of a single, unified public service for Britain. While we remain
unpersuaded by this idea, we do accept that benefits could flow
from a determined effort to disseminate a unified public service
ethos throughout the public sector."
Amendment proposed, in line 4, to leave out from
the word "them" to the word "We" in line 5—(Mr
Andrew Tyrie.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 1 | Noes, 4
|
| Mr Andrew Tyrie | Mr David Lepper
|
| Mr Neil Turner
|
| Mr Brian White
|
| Mr Anthony D Wright
|
Paragraph agreed to.
Paragraphs 13 to 28 agreed to.
Paragraph 29 read, as follows:
"As a result of Sir Richard's Report, each government
department has established its own diversity action plan and the
Cabinet Office set service-wide targets for the senior Civil Service.
The service-wide targets are that: the number of women in the
senior civil service is to be increased from 17.8 per cent in
1998 to 35 per cent in 2005; the representation of people with
disabilities is to be increased from 1.5 per cent in 1998 to 3
per cent in 2005; and the representation of people from an ethnic
minority background should rise from 1.6 per cent to 3.2 per cent.
(At 14 December 2000 the actual figures were 1.7 per cent for
people with disabilities, 2.1 per cent from an ethnic minority
background and 22 per cent for women.) We are concerned that these
desirable targets are not all that likely to be achieved. Sir
Richard Wilson said that the target for the percentage of women
in the senior civil service was unlikely to be reached because
there were not enough women in the ranks just below who were in
line for promotion. If this one target cannot be met, for reasons
which could have been foreseen, it is possible that others may
be equally doubtful; and it raises questions about the basis of
such target-setting. We take it for granted tha the pursuit of
targets will not be at the expense of quality".
Amendment proposed, in line 9, to leave out the word
"desirable"—(Mr Andrew Tyrie.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 1 | Noes, 4
|
| Mr Andrew Tyrie | Mr David Lepper
|
| Mr Neil Turner
|
| Mr Brian White
|
| Mr Anthony D Wright
|
| Paragraph agreed to.
|
Paragraph agreed to.
Paragraphs 30 to 39 agreed to.
Paragraph 40 read, as follows:
"In all of this it is important to keep citizens
at the front of the picture. For example, individual citizens
could be given a brief synoptic account of how the money raised
in central taxation has been spent. Work in central government-sponsored
focus groups has shown that many citizens spontaneously mention
the leaflets which local authorities distribute each year explaining
their expenditures and revenues, at the time when council tax
payments are notified. There is currently no central government
equivalent of this direct communication, for example a leaflet
circulated with Inland Revenue income tax forms. The Government
has instituted an Annual Report, an innovation which we welcome,
which is extensively distributed in supermarkets and elsewhere.
But this document is strongly presentational and its statements
are not independently verified or endorsed, which we believe they
should be. The real drivers of audit and accountability in public
services should be what users want from services, and their experience
of them. The centrality of effective complaint and redress mechanisms
need to be recognised. An approach that begins to define a serious
framework of rights (and responsibilities) for public service
users of the kind tentatively developed under the Citizen's Charter,
but somewhat lost sight of subsequently, needs to be resurrected
and extended. Public services need to be open for business at
times and in places convenient for those who use them. We look
to the 'consumer champions' in each Department, and to the Service
First Unit in the Cabinet Office, to move these issues forward."
Amendment proposed, in line 7, to leave out the words
"an innovation which we welcome"—(Mr Andrew
Tyrie.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 1 | Noes, 4
|
| Mr Andrew Tyrie | Mr David Lepper
|
| Mr Neil Turner
|
| Mr Brian White
|
| Mr Anthony D Wright
|
Paragraph agreed to.
Paragraphs 41 and 43 agreed to.
Annex agreed to.
Resolved, That the Report
be the Seventh Report of the Committee to the House.
Ordered, That the Chairman
do make the Report to the House.
Ordered, That the provisions
of Standing Order No 134 (Select Committees (Reports)) be applied
to the Report.
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