The government's ambition to transform government and reduce the deficit through the devolution of additional powers to local councils will be frustrated unless rapid civil service reform takes place, according to a report published by the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC).
The Conservative’s ‘Big Society’ initiative and the localism and decentralisation put forward by the Liberal Democrats aim to minimise Whitehall bureaucracy and economic waste. But significant civil service staff cuts across government departments accompany these reforms, as part of the Coalition's £81 billion deficit reduction plan, with some departments seeing cuts are high as 25 per cent.
David Cameron has described the Big Society as his "mission" and Nick Clegg has talked at length about localism, in attempts to distinguish the Liberals Democrats from those who preach, to those that practice decentralisation.
But more proactive efforts from the government are needed to push forward these reforms, according to the report. The committee highlights Whitehall’s ‘institutional inertia’, something Cameron has underlined before. Significant structural change to the Civil Service is needed and both Ministers and Senior Civil servants have to take responsibility for proactively driving these reforms, implementing a structure that will enable change to happen, suggests the report. The gradual process of reform that is usually adopted in Whitehall will not work with the Coalition’s programme, says PASC.
Bernard Jenkin, MP, Chair of the committee, said "ministers seem to think change will just happen": "Change needs to be driven from the centre of government and driven by the top management in every department, and lower levels of management must be fully engaged in the objectives and implementation of change. This only appears to be happening in very few departments. There is no machinery to ensure lessons are being learned across Whitehall and that corrective is action taken in weaker departments."
The Institute for Government (IFG), whose Director of Research, Julian McCrae, gave evidence to the PASC, said the report's recommendations were right: "We believe that the government’s ambitious policy goals can only succeed if they are accompanied by an equally visionary transformation programme for the civil service.
James Page, Senior Research Fellow at IFG said: "I broadly support PASC and where they are going with this. There is a huge agenda and coordination is needed. The civil service is already making unprecedented cuts. Whitehall has been moving fast since the spending review. This is not a Yes Minister, Sir Humphrey situation where the civil service say they need so many extra staff in order to achieve staff cuts. "
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We welcome this report looking at change in Government, and will respond to the detailed recommendations in due course. We are working with Departments across Government to make the Civil Service smaller, flatter, more fluid and integrated, more entrepreneurial and innovative, with stronger professional and commercial skills and more rigorous performance management."