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Call for Evidence

Civil Service Leadership and Reform

It is a fundamental principle that the Civil Service serves the Government of the day. Despite that, tensions have arisen between Ministers and the Officials who serve them. Such tensions are not new, but appear to have intensified recently. Referendums on Scottish independence and Brexit, and the Covid-19 pandemic response have seen questions about the capability but also the integrity of the Civil Service arise. Events such as these have contributed to the existing pressures that the 24-hour news cycle and demands of social media have already placed on political decision-making. This has resulted in the high-profile dismissals of a number of Civil Service leaders which has raised questions about the permanence and the neutrality of the Civil Service. In this environment, the robustness of the Westminster model and the continued relevance of significant aspects of it are beginning to be questioned.  

The Committee welcomes written submissions addressing some or all of the following questions:  

  • The status and constitutional position of the Civil Service, including: 
  • The extent to which the established values of the Civil Service, enshrined in the Civil Service Code, continue to determine the conduct of Officials and are respected by the governments they serve. 
  • Whether the Civil Service feels sufficiently confident or empowered to give honest advice to Ministers and ‘speak truth to power’, and if not, what the consequences are for policy making and governance. To what extent does the Civil Service leadership have responsibility for ensuring that an environment exists where officials do feel empowered to give candid advice? 
  • What responsibility does the Civil Service have for ensuring constitutional propriety in the conduct of government? 
  • Civil Service Leadership 
  • What constitutes good leadership in the Civil Service? 
  • As the Head of the Civil Service, is the Cabinet Secretary sufficiently empowered to lead the Civil Service and how far is the Civil Service Board equipped to provide effective leadership? 
  • The extent to which the Civil Service has an obligation to enhance its capability and, if so, whether that can be exercised unless such an obligation also applies to governments. Should any such stewardship obligation be formalised? 
  • Whether Ministers’ current role in the hiring, firing, and promotion of Civil Service leaders is appropriate and conducive to effective government.  
  • Policymaking  
  • Is the respective accountability of Ministers and Officials for policy formulation and delivery sufficiently clear and, if not, how might it be made more so?  
  • Is the current system of Ministerial Directions effective and sufficient? 
  • In all of these areas, are there lessons from other countries that the UK can useful adopt? 

The Committee welcomes submissions by 5pm on Wednesday 6 September.

This call for written evidence has now closed.

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