Whitehall reform must be led from the centre, says Bernard Jenkin – and that means asking questions about the role of the civil service chief.

The public administration select committee (PASC) produced a report last month, Change in Government: the agenda for leadership, whose message was stark: that without substantial reform of Whitehall, the government’s flagship policies such as the Big Society, decentralisation, localism, and transformation of the relationship between public service providers and users will fail. The fundamental conclusion of our report is that a restructuring of the centre of government is now necessary, in order to establish a means of driving change, chasing progress and benchmarking best practice throughout Whitehall. The government should act decisively to establish this corporate centre under an individual given full authority by ministers to demand change across Whitehall.

What surprised us in the course of our inquiry was the lack of a clear plan for reform at the heart of government. Ministers are keener to implement their policy agendas – to ‘do stuff’, as Francis Maude told us – than to examine how their department is functioning and plan for reform. But when we asked permanent secretaries to submit to us their assessment of the effect of Big Society reforms and spending review requirements, and their plans for departmental change and the accumulation of necessary experience in commissioning and contracting, the responses were good only in parts. While some departments have credible reform plans and realistic assessments of what remains to be done, others are vague in their assessments and unclear about their plans for structural change.

We call for the government to produce a comprehensive change programme which sets out what the civil service is for and how it must change. Such change must be driven from the centre. Departments can make valuable contributions to reform of the civil service, but without a strong lead from the centre, change programmes risk being uncoordinated, contradictory and overlapping. We want the senior management of each department to show leadership through change, but we believe that there must be a driver for such change in the heart of Whitehall.

PASC plans to track progress in reform over the course of this Parliament by means of follow-up inquiries and regular monitoring of delivery against our recommendations and the government’s commitments, testing the government’s progress against six key principles: leadership in change management; performance through change; appropriate arrangements for accountability; transparency in government which helps the citizen; coherence in delivering reforms; and engagement and empowerment of civil servants to deliver change.

The first of these follow-up inquiries is likely to examine the concept of a ‘centre of government’, and in particular the role of the Head of the Home Civil Service. Is it still appropriate, or even possible, for the Head of the Home Civil Service to function simultaneously as Secretary to the Cabinet? What particular capabilities will be required of this individual in a time of fundamental change? What powers should this individual have, and what structures should be at his or her disposal? How can a strong centre ensure the cooperation of departments while empowering the leadership of each to deliver change? Most agree that silo-working is endemic among Whitehall departments, yet nobody seems to have a solution. This is not about creating a blueprint for government departments or doing away with the federal character of Whitehall, but we need to end turf wars and ensure that different departments operate effectively with each other. We will be looking at why Whitehall does not seem to have a “headquarters” to coordinate more effectively across Whitehall, to make sure that best practice is learned and shared, and to ensure that leadership is both effective and coherent. 

This touches on another inquiry recently launched by the committee, about the development of strategy-making within Whitehall. What role should a Whitehall corporate centre and the Head of the Home Civil Service play in supporting the development of the UK strategy?

Bernard Jenkin is chair of the House of Commons public administration select committee.

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Written by Bernard Jenkin