An Issues and Questions Paper
INTRODUCTION
PASC—the House of Commons Public Administration
Select Committee—is inquiring into the effectiveness of
the Civil Service. PASC has this year published a draft Civil
Service Bill, which seeks to ensure that the Service's principles
of impartiality and neutrality are secured by Parliament. However,
it believes that the professional standards of the Service, its
skills and capacity to deliver what is required, demand equal
attention. Ministers have made many proposals for reform which
have been intended to make the Service more effective, and the
last five years have seen a succession of Government reports,
reviews and policy statements on the issue. This paper seeks
views on some of the main questions which have emerged.
RECENT GOVERNMENT POLICY STATEMENTS ON THE CIVIL
SERVICE
Sir Richard Wilson's proposals 1999
The proposals of the then Head of the Home Civil
Service, Sir Richard Wilson, for modernising the Civil Service
were published in December 1999. The report set out how the Civil
Service intended to take forward the commitment in the Modernising
Government White Paper to "create a Civil Service for
the 21st Century". Sir Richard said that Permanent Secretaries
had committed themselves to action on the basis of six key themes:
stronger leadership with a clear sense of purpose; better business
planning from top to bottom; sharper performance management; a
dramatic improvement in diversity; a Service more open to people
and ideas, which brings on talent, and a better deal for staff.
Sir Andrew Turnbull on the future of the Service,
2002
The current Head of the Home Civil Service, Sir Andrew
Turnbull, set out his own thoughts on the future for the Service
when he took up his post in 2002. He said that "accelerating
change in the Civil Service will be my priority over the next
three years". He told civil servants that he wished to take
further the changes initiated by Sir Richard, including closer
working with Ministers and a major restructuring of the Cabinet
Office, "creating teams with clear remits who will work
together to support you to deliver your change programmes in departments
and agencies" and full exploitation of new technology "so
that our customers quickly receive what they want from us".
Sir Andrew continued that he was placing "a
high priority on improving the way we manage and develop people.
I would like everyone to continually strive to reach their potential
and to have incentives and opportunities to acquire key skills
for delivery, such as project management".
In February 2004, Sir Andrew suggested that greater
career mobility and effective partnerships across sectors (along
with a smaller and better-focussed centre of government) would
help to strengthen the delivery capacity of the Civil Service.
He made it clear that this meant that civil servants would have
very different careers in the future: "We are talking about
a more flexible, but more effective and professional career pattern.
No one any more expects a right to a job for life, just because
they successfully negotiated an entry process when they were twenty
two. What matters is performance in a changing world".
The Prime Minister on Civil Service Reform, February
2004
Also speaking in February 2004, the Prime Minister
outlined his view of future shape of the Civil Service and the
wider public services. He laid particular stress on the importance
of providing services that people need and expect:
"Consumer expectations of Government services
as well as others are rising remorselessly. People no longer take
what is given them and are grateful. They want services that are
responsive to their needs and wishes. Long gone are rigid demarcations
between public, private and voluntary sectors, at least in the
public's mind. They are happy to see and often require partnership
between the three. They see the revolutionary effect of IT and
want it applied across the public sector too. And above all else,
the majority today are taxpayers. Government money is their money.
They expect a return.
Mr Blair set out the special challenges that, he
believed, were faced by the Civil Service:
"The principal challenge is to shift focus from
policy advice to delivery. Delivery means outcomes. It means project
management. It means adapting to new situations and altering rules
and practice accordingly. It means working not in traditional
departmental silos. It means working naturally with partners outside
of Government. It's not that many individual civil servants aren't
capable of this. It is that doing it requires a change of operation
and of culture that goes to the core of the Civil Service".
He then listed seven practical "keys to transformation
of the Civil Service":
- a smaller, strategic centre;
- a Civil Service with professional and specialist
skills;
- a Civil Service open to the public, private and
voluntary sector and encouraging interchange among them;
- more rapid promotion within the Civil Service
and an end to tenure for senior posts;
- a Civil Service equipped to lead, with proven
leadership in management and project delivery;
- a more strategic and innovative approach to policy;
- government organised around problems, not problems
around Government".
The Gershon Review of Public Sector Efficiency
The Government Review of Public Sector Efficiency,
conducted in 2003 and 2004 by Sir Peter Gershon, centred on the
objective of "releasing major resources out of activities
which can be undertaken more efficiently into front line services
that meet the public's highest priorities". The report,
"Releasing resources to the front line", published in
July 2004, set out "auditable and transparent efficiency
gains of over £20 billion in 2007-08 across the public sector"
which have been "identified and agreed". According to
Sir Peter, over sixty percent of the savings are "directly
cash releasing". The Gershon proposals would also "result
in a gross reduction of over 84,000 posts in the Civil Service
and military personnel in administrative and support roles".
Relocation: the Lyons Review
The Independent Review of Public Sector Relocation,
led by Sir Michael Lyons, produced its report in March 2004. It
concluded that "the pattern of government needs to be reshaped"
and that "national public sector activity is concentrated
around London to an extent that is inconsistent with Government
objectives".
Sir Michael called on departments to move quickly
to implement their relocation plans, and for there to be a strongly
enforced presumption against London and the South East for new
activities and many other functions. London headquarters should
be radically slimmed down and there should be improved coordination
between departments in relocating activities. During the review
process, some 20,000 jobs were identified as capable of being
moved out of London and the South East. Sir Michael summed up
his recommendations by saying that "I believe that a new
pattern of government service will contribute significantly to
Government's policies for the reform of public services, improving
regional growth, national competitiveness and devolution. Government
needs to take firm action to recast the pattern of its business
in a way that better meets the needs of the nation in the new
century".
Diversity
One of the Government's stated aims is to increase
the diversity of the Civil Service. This is partly to ensure that
it properly reflects society, in order to deliver services that
meet the needs of the whole population. Sir Andrew Turnbull expanded
on this when he announced the appointment of Waqar Azmi as the
key diversity adviser to the Civil service in August 2004:
"Increasing diversity across the Civil Service
is crucial to us. An open and diverse Civil Service enables us
to achieve excellence in policy development and service delivery.
Waqar Azmi's appointment will enhance our efforts to create a
Civil Service that is truly representative of the society we serve,
including at the senior levels".
HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS PAPER
PASC would like to receive responses to any or all
of the questions in this paper. Although some of the questions
could theoretically be answered by a simple yes or no, the Committee
would especially value extended memoranda with background evidence
where appropriate. Some respondents may wish to concentrate
on those issues in which they have a special interest, rather
than necessarily answering all the questions.
Memoranda will usually be treated as evidence to
the Committee and may be published as part of a final Report.
Memoranda submitted to the Committee should be kept confidential
unless and until published by the Committee. If you object
to your memorandum being made public in a volume of evidence and
on the internet, please make this clear when it is submitted.
Memoranda should be submitted by 17 December 2004
as hard copy on A4 paper, but please send an electronic version
also, by email to pubadmincom@parliament.uk, or on computer disk
in Rich Text Format, ASCII, WordPerfect 8 or Word. Hard copies
should be sent to Philip Aylett, Clerk, Public Administration
Select Committee, Committee Office, First Floor, Committee Office,
7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA.
The Committee is holding oral evidence sessions in
the autumn and winter of 2004-05.
THE MAIN QUESTIONS
The Role and Function of the Civil Service
The Committee seeks views on the future role and
function of the Civil Service, and on the relationship between
the Service and other parts of the public sector.
1. What are the most important current functions
of the Civil Service?
2. Should any of these functions be altered
or removed, and if so, what should be the main Civil Service roles
in future?
3. What should be the relationship between the
Civil Service and other public services?
4. Would it be appropriate to have just one public
service, comprising the Civil Service and staff of local government,
the NHS and other bodies responsible for service delivery?
5. Would the establishment of a single public
service help to eliminate some of strains in the relationship
between central and local government?
6. Despite five years of devolution, the Assembly
Government in Wales and the Scottish Executive are both still
served by members of the unified UK Civil Service. Is this appropriate?
Civil Service Skills
The Committee is examining whether civil servants
possess the skills they require to serve Ministers and the public.
7. Does the Civil Service have the right skills
to help governments deliver public services?
8. How does the performance of the Civil Service
compare with that of its equivalents in other countries? Who or
what is mainly to blame for the recent problems in government
IT, procurement and project management?
Civil Service careers: the end of a 'job for life'?
The Government has proposed major changes to the
pattern of Civil Service careers, with less job security and
greater encouragement to move between different parts of the public
sector and between the private and public sectors. The rules concerning
the employment of former civil servants, which have an impact
on such moves, are currently under review by Sir Patrick Brown,
former Permanent Secretary at the Department of Transport. There
have been suggestions that such rules act as a deterrent to interchange
between the sectors, thus depriving the Civil Service of some
of the skills it needs.
9. Many civil servants enter the Service in their
teens or early twenties and expect to stay until they retire at
60. What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving civil
servants such tenure?
10. Will the idea of 'career anchors', allowing
civil servants greater movement between private, voluntary and
public sectors during their careers, be effective in enhancing
skills? What effect might such a policy have on the structure
and culture of the Civil Service?
11. Are the current rules regulating the business
activities of civil servants too restrictive? Is there concrete
evidence that the rules are deterring highly able people from
joining the Service?
Politics and the Civil Service
There has been considerable debate about the alleged
politicisation of the Civil Service. At the moment almost all
civil servants are required to be politically neutral and prepared
to serve governments of any persuasion. It has recently been suggested
(by Ed Straw in a Demos pamphlet) that Ministers should be allowed
to appoint senior officials. The Committee seeks views on these
issues.
12. Is there a danger that the Civil Service
would be politicised if its structure and culture were to be radically
altered?
13. Should Ministers have the opportunity of
appointing a significant number of senior civil servants in their
departments?
The Civil Service as an employer
The Committee would like to hear views on whether
the Civil Service is good at managing and developing its staff.
This includes issues such as the quality of management and the
effectiveness of training.
14. Does the Civil Service manage its staff effectively?
15. Could the Civil Service do more to attract
talented people to work for it?
16. What are the strengths and weaknesses of
Civil Service training and development? How might it be improved?
17. Will the recent introduction of Personal
Improvement Plans for Senior Civil Servants who are placed in
the bottom 20 percent of performers help to address the problem
of poor performance?
The Gershon and Lyons Reviews
18. Are the 'Gershon' Review recommendations
for strengthening the "frontline" and reducing staff
likely to improve services? What are their possible disadvantages?
19. Do you agree with Sir Michael Lyons that
reform of the public services will be furthered by relocating
civil service posts out of London and the south east? What might
be the disadvantages?
20. What is your view of Sir Michael's statement
that a new pattern of government services, as proposed in his
report, will improve regional growth and national competitiveness?
Diversity
21. The Civil Service is gradually becoming more
diverse. Is the pace of change in diversity fast enough, and are
the right measures in place to achieve improvements?
22. How can the Service ensure that its greater
diversity really leads to more effective public services?
October 2004
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