Ministers deserve better support from their private offices

Ministerial private office staff have made rather more headlines than they might have liked in recent years. Dominic Raab complained in his resignation letter that dedicated officials were removed from his private office, while Suella Braverman apparently asked her office to arrange a private speed awareness class. This unexpected rush of publicity has raised questions about what exactly the private office does – and what it should be doing.

With relationships between ministers and civil servants on rocky grounds, it is important that private office staff – the civil servants who ministers interact with most – are providing the support ministers need while upholding the standards expected of the role. But our recent research found that private offices do not always provide the quality of support that ministers need. This is not because civil servants are failing, but because they are not given the opportunity to develop the skills and experience they need to support ministers well. Too many private secretaries are young, inexperienced and thrown into the deep end with little to no training. The weaknesses of this system let down private secretaries and ministers alike.

The civil service should take private office roles more seriously

Private office roles are considered an ‘accelerator’, or a stepping stone to bigger and better things. ⁴ Friedman S, Navigating the Labyrinth: Socio-economic background and career progression within the Civil Service, Social Mobility Commission, 2021, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987600/SMC-NavigatingtheLabyrinth.pdf Few permanent secretaries make it to the top without spending time in private office. But this prestige can be counterproductive, as it can mean private office jobs aren’t always valued in their own right. Private secretaries work long hours, are expected to keep track of diaries and relationships, and to know the department’s policy challenges back to front. It is a vital government role, but private office staff do not always have the skills they need – as former Conservative minister Baroness Stowell told us:

“When I went to DCLG [the Department for Communities and Local Government] I felt like I had to almost train people on what it is that you need to do in order to provide effective support to somebody.”

This doesn’t mean private secretaries need to be more senior, or older. Indeed, the demands of private office means the flexibility that comes more easily to younger civil servants, with potentially fewer demands on their time outside work, will be valuable. But nor does it mean private secretaries should be inexperienced or unsupported. New private secretaries should be offered training specific to their roles. And the civil service should provide networking, skills-sharing and mentorship across private offices – rather than expecting young private secretaries to turn up, magically get the job right, move on, and never look back.

Junior ministers deserve high quality staff

Due in part to this lack of training, some private offices are failing to provide their ministers with basic support. Junior ministers typically suffer most. One junior minister we spoke to didn’t know that their private secretaries tend to write ‘box notes’ summarising the contents of their ministerial red box, while civil servants in junior ministers’ offices repeatedly told us that it was difficult to recruit talented staff.

But private office roles also demand a more complex set of relationship management skills, and there is a risk that these are neglected in junior ministers’ offices. Private secretaries need to know the disagreements and compromises that have gone into a submission – and the implications of the minister’s response. Recruiting private secretaries from within the civil service or, ideally, the department itself, would help ensure they had these vital skills. To make sure that junior ministers also have access to the best talent, departments should hold joint recruitment rounds for junior ministers’ and secretaries of state’s offices. Civil servants in junior ministers’ offices should also receive pay closer to those in secretaries of state’s offices.  

Both ministers and civil servants have a role to play

While the civil service can improve how private office staff are recruited and trained, it is up to ministers to establish a positive working environment in their office. Ministers need to think through what support they need – not always an easy question – and ensure that they are creating a trusting environment where civil servants are able to challenge ideas.

This means a minister working out how their private office can operate in a way that best meets his or her working style and needs – including when they may want to changes roles and responsibilities, or bring someone new in. The civil service should produce guidance on when it’s appropriate for such changes to be made.

Without an effective private office, ministers struggle to achieve their objectives. Such a crucial part of government requires competent, well-trained and well-supported staff – or else ministers are left ill-equipped to do their jobs.