Declaration on Government Reform

Tuesday 15th June 2021 Written Statements

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Michael Gove)]

The covid-19 pandemic has strained our country’s resilience like nothing we have seen out of wartime, and the public have endured huge sacrifices. Our mission now is to respond by transforming the country for the better, levelling up, and making opportunity more equal. These changes will require the re-wiring, and renewal, of government. That is why reform is necessary—not as an end in itself, but as a means of delivering the better Britain the public demand and deserve.

To this end, the Cabinet and permanent secretaries have committed today to a collective vision for reform, agreeing immediate action on three fronts:

People—ensuring that the right people are working in the right places with the right incentives;

Performance— modernising the operation of government, being clear-eyed about our priorities, and objective in our evaluation of what is and is not working; and

Partnership—strengthening the bond between Ministers and officials, always operating as one team from policy through to delivery, and between central Government and institutions outside it.

The “Declaration on Government Reform” sets out the Government’s ambitions in more detail, with a set of concrete actions under way and more planned for the year ahead. Copies of the declaration have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

[HCWS93]