By
Daily Mail Reporter
20:04 EST, 31 July 2012
|
20:04 EST, 31 July 2012
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude will provoke a row with public sector unions today by announcing moves to smash Whitehall’s monopoly on the development of Government policy.
He will say that for the first time, ministers are to be allowed to draw directly on the thinking and evidence of experts beyond the civil service.
In a move that will undermine the all-powerful role of senior mandarins, other bodies such as think-tanks and charities and academics will be commissioned directly to advise the Government.
Mr Maude will say that for the first time, ministers will be allowed to draw directly on the thinking and evidence of experts beyond the civil service
Provocatively, the first such study will be on reform of the civil service itself.
Experts will be asked to review whether other government bureaucracies work more effectively, with a particular focus on New Zealand, where civil servants have to sign contracts with ministers and can be sacked if they fail to deliver.
They will also consider whether a system that applies in other parts of the world, where mandarins have to offer an incoming administration their resignation to give them the chance to ‘clear the decks’ of officials associated with the previous government, should be introduced here.
Sir Bob Kerslake welcomed the ‘exciting opportunity’ for departments to seek external input
The FDA, the union for senior civil servants, has suggested that the Coalition’s proposals for reform could undermine the service’s political impartiality.
But ministers have become frustrated with the ‘risk-averse’ culture in Whitehall, and the difficulty of identifying and removing poorly performing officials.
Mr Maude said: ‘To meet the future challenges of our fast-changing world, the civil service needs to continue to change and adapt.
‘That’s why we are determined to draw on new ideas.’
Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the civil service, welcomed the ‘exciting opportunity’ for departments to seek external input.
‘Open policy-making must become the default in Government,’ he said.
‘Whitehall does not have a monopoly on policy-making expertise.’
-
Forging of the Mandarin mermaid: How Chinese children are…
-
The world’s worst self portraits: Posers who should have…
-
China’s most incredible mother: Staggering story of the…
-
‘There was feathers and blood everywhere’: Boy’s shock after…
-
Couple are stoned to death for adultery in Mali and…
-
Michael Phelps IS the greatest Olympian ever: The Baltimore…
-
Youth detained over abusive Twitter messages received by Tom…
-
U.S. gymnastics team floors the competition with gold medal…
-
‘Holmies for life’: Shocking pictures reveal sick online…
-
The moment Zara’s gold dream ended: Royal’s horror as her…
-
Drunk driver, 23, ‘who ran over married mother on a morning…
-
College professor ‘plotted to burn down son’s high school,…