Who wants to be a senior civil servant?
The Public Accounts Committee recently published its report ‘Managing early departures in central government’. The Institute agreed with many of the PAC conclusions – but the report has a solely...
View ArticleImproving accountability— an urgent search without easy solutions
The Government is right to look overseas for ideas on alternative structures of ministerial/civil service relations. There is a strong case for strengthening accountability, both within Whitehall and...
View ArticleMinisterial involvement in civil service appointments
In a speech at the Institute for Government on 2 October, Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude set out his case for giving ministers a greater role in the appointment of permanent secretaries, in a...
View ArticleMinisterial private offices need a boost
Awaiting the minister in the department will be a private office, a ‘life support machine’ that sustains each minister from the minute they arrive. This small group of officials plays a key role in...
View ArticleThe Hodge question: to whom are civil servants accountable?
Permanent secretaries cannot just privately seethe over Mrs Hodge’s more aggressive style at the PAC, and, in particular, the decision to require the HMRC’s lawyer to swear an oath -which prompted a...
View ArticleLong live the pen! A look behind today’s National Archives release
The highlights in the newspapers bring to life the inner workings of government from 30 years ago. The content is fascinating. We discover details about nuclear release procedures in light of the...
View ArticleFuture directions for the Accounting Officer system
Earlier this year the Major Projects Authority gave 31 out of 191 government projects an Amber/Red or Red rating, signalling that there are problems with implementation. Yet all of these projects have...
View ArticleA really useful inquiry
Inquiry blight is a real danger. But, as the latest report from the Public Administration Select Committee, Truth to power: how Civil Service reform can succeed, argues, there is a lot wrong now and...
View ArticleGuest blog: A response to Martin Donnelly’s speech on the Civil Service
It was not intended as a criticism but as a warning. I agreed most strongly with the arguments set out in Martin’s speech which were almost identical with my own views about the role of what he called...
View ArticleWish you were here? Tales from New Zealand’s journey of civil service reform
Much of the language used and aspirations conveyed by Mr Rennie sounded familiar to followers of the UK’s civil service reform agenda. However, Mr Rennie’s presentation (and the response by Mark...
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