Should we follow US with clear out of pen-pushers?
Change at the top in the US means change throughout the administration. What about here? asks Ian Handford
THE question raised by Mr Richard Crossman in his Crossman Diaries, a book completed in 1974, asking “Is the Civil Service System Broken?” surfaced again at a Conservative Party Fringe meeting at Conference 2020. The question raised by Lord Agnew suggested the public service (although not necessarily its officials) had over the years been continually watering down the system of assessments prior to promotion, so that today the practical skills and ability of the Civil Service “to operate any financial or contractual management was now broken”.
Mr Crossman’s diaries were published after his death, when it became clear many of the senior mandarins in Whitehall were vehemently opposed to its publication. The opposition hardened when these Government employees realised the book was to be serialised in a Sunday newspaper. But it was published and today it is interesting for us to know that the producers of the successful television series “Yes Minister” acknowledged they used the book as a principal source of material for their scripts.
Senior mandarins of the era believed the book would undermine any trust between Government and Civil Servants as it highlighted centralisation and resistance to change within the service. Today, of course the debates on Brexit and even Covid-19, reveal how inflexible and centralised the Civil Service is in its London base, taking little account of voters around the country. This was particularly obvious when Parliament was debating Brexit as officials remained defiant and resistant to change. Then when Covid-19 emerged some weeks later, once again we witnessed the centralisation issue with little accountability.
The main heads of Government Departments still based in London, are – as we saw with Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister – independent individuals. However, once a year they come together at an annual function. Amazingly when I was National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses I was delighted to accept an invitation to attend – although only once. Circulating among these powerful Knights of the realm, many with other honours representing State Departments like HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, Revenue etc, was quite daunting. The invited speaker (that year the CEO of Littlewoods) and myself were the only business representatives in attendance.
It was Baroness Finn who last October supported Lord Agnew at Conference. As a member of the Lords and a Board member of Cabinet, this was another major department I regularly attended after being asked to join the Better Regulation Task Force, chaired by Lord Haskins during the 1990s. But now the Baroness’s comment at Conference “the service rewards adherence to the status quo rather than risk taking” proves that both Houses of Parliament are fully aware they have a problem with the present Civil Service.
It hardly helped when the Prime Minister appointed Dominic Cummings as his Chief Adviser. Weeks later No 10 was in the headlines again, when we learned all future central funding would have to be signed off by “Mr Cummings and the No 10 team”. That news came as he was serving notice on his Cabinet Office colleagues when issuing the contentious comment “the hard rain is coming”. Here was a man who wished to employ more “weirdos and misfits with odd skills” rather than “educated bluffers”. Oddly some journalists believed he had a point as they thought few skilled engineers, scientists or academics would wish to sit at a London desk even if offered high salaries. In my experience entrepreneurs enjoy being at the sharp-end, with no wish to swap the workplace for a London career.
The power-base of Mr Cummings at No 10, meant he was always going to be highly contentious and having disposed of Sir Mark Sedwill, top Civil Servant and Cabinet Secretary plus National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, now even his collegues told him to not pick a fight with Whitehall. Their advice was ignored and this eventually brought about his own downfall in December as he walked away from No 10.
In wishing the power of the Civil Service to be restricted you have to wonder who is going to be strong enough to start the process. Currently, 90,000 Civil Servants work in London, so any form of substantial change is going to be very difficult. In America all political appointees to the White House are automatically replaced when a new President enters office. That tradition has just witnessed more than 4000 officials leaving the White House at the changing of the guard. Should it also happen here?
Ian Handford was National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses for three years