Memorandum submitted by the Permanent
Secretary, Home Office
At the start of the Committee's proceedings yesterday
we discussed the work which had been done to improve the performance
of the Home Office's top leadership. I promised to write to you
about the costs.
As I explained to you yesterday the personal coaching
I received in 2008-09 from the consultant, Margaret Exley,
as quite limited and was part of a much larger programme of development
for the Department's top leadership. It was not, therefore, charged
for separately and I am not able to give you a precise estimate
of its cost.
I can, however, give you details of the cost of the
whole programme which provided support and development to all
members of the Home Office Board and laid the basis for the wider
development of the Department's top 1,000 managers. The programme
was provided by Stonecourt Consultants, of whom Margaret Exley
is a principle consultant, and took place—intermittently—between
2007 and the beginning of 2010. It consisted of three pieces of
work:
- an initial assessment of the strengths and weaknesses
of the Home Office's leadership;
- an intensive programme of senior leadership development
for the top team including both development for each individual
member and collective team development; and
- a follow up at the end of 2009 to ensure the
improvements in leadership performance were being sustained and
spread to the rest of the senior and middle management of the
Home Office.
Over the three years the total cost of each phase
(including VAT) was £54,000, £271,000 and £30,000.
We are clear that Stonecourt's work made an important
contribution to improving the Home Office's effectiveness and
performance. When I came to the Home Office in 2006 it was the
bottom performer in the Cabinet Office's Capability Reviews of
Government Departments with particular concerns about leadership
capability. Five years later it is recognised as being in the
top group of Departments with the quality and performance of its
senior leadership being the key to our improvement.
November 2010
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