Civil Service: Politicisation

Baroness Wilcox of Newport Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Butler of Brockwell, for bringing this important debate to the House. At a time when the integrity and professionalism of our civil servants is under scrutiny, particularly from certain factions within our political landscape, it is imperative we remind ourselves of the foundational principles that govern their work: the Civil Service Code. It is equally important to address the unfounded accusations of politicisation levelled against them by some politicians and others who appear to misunderstand the essential role of the Civil Service in our system.

I am less qualified than many noble Lords present here to speak about these matters, having never held an office which would have resulted in engagement with the Civil Service in Whitehall. I have, however, held the most senior office in local government, as the leader of the Welsh Local Government Association. I engaged frequently with the civil servants in Cardiff Bay and Cathays Park—the Welsh equivalent of Whitehall. In my contact with them, the officials carried out their roles with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

When negotiating on behalf of local government colleagues, I did not always agree with some of the results of the advice officials had given to Ministers—particularly the funding settlements for local authorities across Wales—but that was a matter of trying to square an ever-decreasing circle of poor financial settlements from the UK Government, which continued to decrease in real terms year after year. There were always so many demands on the base budget. Civil servants would prepare choices for Ministers, who then made their political judgment about their allocations. I never felt there was a pre-determinism about it; just a realisation that, despite the case we put forward for greater funding of public services, the finite resource they had to deal with was the greatest block to realisation, rather than any prejudice or aversion to local government, or, indeed, politicisation by the officials.

As many noble Lords have noted, it is well chronicled that the Civil Service has had a difficult time. Civil servants have demonstrated immense resilience and commitment to their roles. The pandemic required rapid policy development and unprecedented levels of collaboration across departments. Civil servants’ ability to provide accurate data, research and policy evaluations has ensured that the responses were not only timely but effective. That was not the action of a politicised body; rather, of a professional service dedicated to safeguarding the health and welfare of our nation.

Boris Johnson’s hard rain reforms of 2020 resulted in the defenestration of a succession of Permanent Secretaries, and all the difficult issues resulting from the pandemic clearly had an effect on the service. The “partygate” scandal of 2021 and the political crises of 2022, which resulted in the unprecedented appointment of three Prime Ministers and 67 Cabinet members in a single calendar year, also had their effects: musical chairs, but without the music.

However, the rate of churn of civil servants moving roles is long standing and can undermine productivity. A lack of expertise among officials has a negative effect on how key projects are managed and on departments’ institutional memory. I therefore look forward to reading the forthcoming plan, announced by the Minister with responsibility for public sector reform and government functions, the honourable Member for Queen’s Park and Maida Vale. She has outlined that the Government will soon set out a dedicated plan for boosting productivity through greater use of new technology. This will play a key role, and I trust that it will assist the service to move on and move forward.