“To whom do civil servants report?”
Back in 2012, Dame Margaret Hodge, then chairing the Public Accounts Committee, asked this simple question.
They certainly report to the permanent secretaries of their departments but then to whom do permanent secretaries report? Their respective Secretaries of State? Or the Cabinet Secretary? Or because they are usually the “accounting officers” for their departments, direct to Parliament? And if so, to whom in Parliament? Or maybe the Civil Service Governance Boards are in charge?
The question has yet to be definitively answered.
According to a government guide, civil servants “help and support” ministers but they are “independent of government”. In other words, they are consultants and not part of government at all. “The head of the Civil Service is supported in this by all his permanent secretaries through the Civil Service Governance Boards.’’ That makes the Cabinet Secretary a sort of CEO. But not quite.
In 2010, the House of Lords Constitution Committee heard strong representations that being head of the civil service was incompatible with being, in effect, the permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, i.e. the role of Cabinet Secretary should be split. Unsurprisingly the recent Cabinet Secretaries supported the current status quo and the Lords consented. The muddle continues.
Ministers cannot sack civil servants however incompetent they prove to be:
“It is a firm rule that ministers cannot dismiss civil servants that displease them or offer unwelcome advice. It follows that, if a Secretary of State falls out with their Permanent Secretary, there then needs to be a triangular discussion involving the Secretary of State, the Cabinet Secretary and the civil servant. Where possible, this leads to two or more Permanent Secretaries swapping places.’’
So if ministers cannot dismiss civil servants, who can? This is Alice in Wonderland territory. They are, technically, servants of the sovereign so the King can but clearly wouldn’t. The “four years in post” rule was introduced in 2004 but it turned out civil servants only stay two years in post anyway - not long enough to gain the relevant experience - so that was largely abandoned.
“Civil servants are not however covered by the statutory redundancy payments scheme available to other workers, but are instead covered by the much more generous Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS). Indeed, the CSCS provides that those covered by the CSCS never receive less on redundancy than they would under the statutory scheme. The Government attempted, in 2009/10, to make the CSCS less generous but one out of the six main civil service unions resisted the changes. The courts then held that the legislation under which the scheme was made required that the scheme could not be altered without the agreement of all of the civil service unions.’’
Most permanent secretaries are the “accounting officers'' for their departments. Meaning once policies are decided, usually based on their advice, they are responsible for their execution including all financial aspects. Notably this responsibility does not fall on the minister.
“The post carries personal (my emphasis) responsibilities to manage the organisation efficiently and effectively and to report to parliament accurately, meaningfully and without misleading.’’
Nothing, really, to do with the departmental Secretaries of State. In practice, “Parliament” normally means the Public Accounts Committee.
What with civil service uncertified days off sick being over 40% higher than the private sector, discipline being regarded as bullying, and most civil servants now working from home, It is a wonder the civil service gets anything done at all. It is high time the Hodge question was answered.
Whitehall needs modernisation. If policies are to be implemented swiftly and cost effectively sensible reporting lines and up-to-date HR practices need to be introduced.