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Charting the challenges for the next Government

How is Whitehall faring?

The Institute for Government has today published Whitehall Monitor 2014, which charts government in over 120 graphs. It shows what government looks like in 2014, how it has changed since 2010, and how transparent it is – but also some of the challenges it will face after the 2015 election. Here we highlight the six key lessons that any future government should draw from this data.

Departments need more stable leadership

Turnover of ministers and permanent secretaries is a perennial problem that can hamper government effectiveness: only six departments have the same Secretary of State (SoS) as appointed at the start of the Coalition. The turnover in Cameron’s first four years (1.74 SoSs per department) was similar to Tony Blair’s first term (1.88).
The turnover on the civil service side has also been considerable: only one department has the same permanent secretary as in May 2010 (Sir Nicholas Macpherson at the Treasury). The Government needs greater insight and tighter controls to ensure the sustainability of spending cuts The 2010 Spending Review set out the planned spending for each Government department for the duration of the parliament. While many departments are spending even less than predicted in 2010, it is virtually impossible to tell where these additional reductions have been made, and therefore how sustainable they are.
The Civil Service needs to change how it works if it is going to cope with the further cuts it faces
Despite a strong start in 2010, reductions in the size of Whitehall are now falling behind expectations. The Government had estimated that the Civil Service would be more than 20% smaller in 2015 compared to 2010. Staff numbers have fallen by nearly 20% (the equivalent of 70,120 full time posts), but in recent quarters the rate of these reductions has dropped and will need to pick up again sharply if the Government’s expectation is to be met. As the outgoing Head of the Civil Service, Sir Bob Kerslake, has argued, further cuts after the election will force Whitehall to change its ways of working and organisation; it will need to join up more services across departments.
Whitehall also needs to keep its staff motivated. Despite the cuts so far, morale has generally held up in Whitehall – with the exception of some departments (the Department for Education) and on some specific issues (pay and benefits). But morale, and Whitehall’s ability to retain key staff, could come under more pressure with further cuts and continuing pay restraint, which means leaders of departments will have to find other ways of motivating their staff. Whitehall needs to continue raising its skills to successfully deliver government reforms
What some departments actually do, day-to-day, has changed in the light of government reforms since 2010. The Ministry of Justice, for example, has opened up areas like probation to competition and contracting, while the Department of Health now runs the health service through two arm’s-length bodies. Departments need the right people and skills at all levels of administration, as the Institute for Government has previously highlighted (for example, with gaps in commercial skills as more services are contracted out). Politicians need to convince the public that they can run government effectively
The public thinks politicians prioritise party-political point-scoring and getting re-elected over keeping their promises and running the government effectively. When asked as part of an IfG poll to name the three things they wanted politicians to prioritise, 46% said ‘Fulfilling the promises they make before getting elected’, 45% said ‘Getting best value for tax-payers’, 41% said ‘Taking decisions about the long-term direction of the country’ and 40% said ‘Running the government professionally’. However, when asked what three things they thought politicians currently prioritised, 53% said ‘Getting re-elected’, 51% said ‘Scoring political points against other parties’ and 43% said ‘Making big announcements in the media’. It is vital that whatever government is formed after the May 2015 continues with the transparency agenda Government transparency has allowed us to build up a better picture of what is happening in Whitehall than ever before. It is vital this transparency is not only maintained, but extended by whatever government is formed after the General Election in May 2015. The data published by government allows the public to know more about government and hold it to account, but also for government to learn more about itself and improve how it operates. Ultimately, transparency might assist the government in creating an efficient and professional Whitehall machine – and proving that to the public.

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