Reforming the Civil Service for the 21st Century

Joining us for an Industry Forum roundtable hosted by Workday, in March, the Rt Hon Lord Maude of Horsham, argued that addressing Civil Service governance and accountability shortcomings should be a top priority for the new, post general election, UK Government. From his government commissioned ‘Independent Review of the Governance and Accountability of the Civil Service’, he quoted some key findings:

• The arrangements for governance and accountability of the Civil Service are unclear, opaque and incomplete.
• There has been a failure over decades to implement or sustain uncontroversial reforms and improvements.
• There should be a comprehensive and transparent scheme of delegation of the Prime Minister’s statutory power to manage the Civil Service and the appointment of a dedicated and full-time head of the Civil Service.

The significance of these points, coming from a consummate Westminster insider with experience at the top levels of government and business, was not lost on those attending. It became clear that for the UK to tackle its many challenges and become an agile, prosperous State with good public services, Lord Maude’s findings need to be addressed as a bi-partisan priority.