The public is paying the price for the poor performance of civil servants

sir – Work may well not be “a place” in this day and age (“Work is not a place, say senior civil servants”, report, May 12), but work remains work – and service remains service.

I am surely not alone in receiving poor service from government departments, one example being the failure of the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver a document to me within its own six-week timescale. Despite regular reminders, escalation to a priority team and an official complaint (which was ignored), my document took six months to arrive.

Whatever the cause of such poor service, it is surely the responsibility of senior civil servants to put it right rather than fight battles with their employer at the expense of the public.

Rod Barrett Bromley, Kent

sir – Your front page (May 12) had a report on Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi’s “crackdown” on truancy next to one on senior civil servants in open revolt against the Government’s injunctions to return to the office.

As a teacher with 34 years’ experience in comprehensive schools, including a decade as a headmaster, I can assure you that ample measures to tackle truancy have been in place for many years, with a proven record of success. Until lockdown.

It is obvious that pretty well anyone in the public sector can now ignore government threats. This seems to apply in every area, at every level: GPS, teachers, staff at local authorities and in hospitals. Lockdown has proved to be a Pandora’s box, unleashing pandemonium on our country.

David Kelly Broseley, Shropshire

sir – Helen Bessemer-clark (Letters, May 11) is right that the Civil Service should not use Covid as an excuse for poor performance, but wrong to blame inefficiency on working from home.

With modern technology, every office function beyond scanning incoming post can take place at home. If an employee working from home fails to perform, the fault lies with the employee’s manager.

If a department is still circulating paper internally or is staffed by people who cannot communicate properly without being in the same room, this shows there are serious issues with the calibre of those in senior posts.

Claims of a need for riffing, mentoring, corridor chatting or creative collaboration in an office are simply excuses used by the feckless who cannot face a day at home with nothing to do but work.

John Sheridan Smith Southampton

sir – I can top the experience of Helen Bessemer-clark at the Office of the Public Guardian. When my call was finally answered after 58 minutes and I threatened to complain, I was told: “That will delay your application further as it will be put on hold while we deal with your complaint.”

You can never beat the system.

Elizabeth Fehnrich London SW1