BGI broadly welcomes the decision to combine the posts of Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service

Posted on: July 16th, 2014

The Better Government Initiative welcomes the decision to combine the posts of Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service and to create the post of Chief Executive for the civil service reporting to him. The present arrangements with a three-way split in responsibilities between the Cabinet Secretary, a part-time Head of the Civil Service who also has another permanent secretary role, and a separate Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office are confusing and lack credibility both with ministers and the civil service itself.

There are still some questions to be answered, however, about what is now proposed.

First, the new post of Chief Executive, who can concentrate full time on improving the performance of the service, will be a key appointment. It is vital that whoever takes it on is selected on merit and has a thorough understanding both of the full range of skills and experience needed for successfully developing and implementing government policies and of the civil service values, now embodied in statute.

Second, to improve career planning and talent management across the service – a key task – the Chief Executive needs to have authority and credibility with permanent secretary colleagues. It must be a top-level post, including membership of the Senior Leadership Committee.

Third, it seems odd that the Chief Executive rather than the Cabinet Secretary should be accountable for the performance of the Cabinet Office (though this may become clearer when more details are available).

Since there is now less than a year to go before the general election the Opposition should be consulted on the new structure and at the end of the selection process before an appointment is made.