AUSTRALIA’S TOP CIVIL SERVANT, MARTIN PARKINSON: IS THE UK CIVIL SERVICE FIT FOR PURPOSE IN A POST-BREXIT BRITAIN? LESSONS FROM THE ORIENT TAKING CARE OF CHILDREN THE RISE OF SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES Issue 18 – October 2018 Subscribe for free here: quarterly.blog.gov.uk #CSQuarterly 2 CIVIL SERVICE QUARTERLY | Issue 18 – October 2018 CONTENTS LANDING THE CASE FOR HEATHROW Caroline Low, Director of Heathrow Expansion, 4 EXPANSION Department for Transport MAKING 30 HOURS CHILDCARE COUNT Michelle Dyson, Director, Early Years and Childcare, 8 Department for Education WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT FRAUD Mark Cheeseman, Deputy Director, Public Sector Fraud, 12 Cabinet Office MODERNISING THE GOVERNMENT ESTATE: James Turner, Deputy Director Strategy & Engagement, 16 A TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY Office of Government Property, Cabinet Office THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORT: Iain Forbes, Head of the Centre for Connected and 20 PUTTING THE UK IN THE DRIVING SEAT Autonomous Vehicles, Department for Transport and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy DELIVERING JUSTICE IN A DIGITAL WORLD Susan Acland-Hood, CEO, HM Courts & Tribunals Service, 24 Ministry of Justice SPOTLIGHT: DEVELOPING THE Fiona Linnard, Government Digital Service 28 LEADERS OF TOMORROW Rob Kent-Smith, UK Statistics Authority DODGING THE ICEBERGS - HOW TO Charlene Chang, Senior Director, Transformation, 30 MAKE GOVERNMENT MORE AGILE Public Service Division, Singapore Jalees Mohammed, Senior Assistant Director, Transformation, Public Service Division, Singapore IN CONVERSATION: DR MARTIN PARKINSON, Martin Parkinson, Australia’s Secretary of the Department of the 36 AUSTRALIA’S SECRETARY OF THE Prime Minister and Cabinet DEPARTMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET Civil Service Quarterly opens CONTACT US EDITORIAL BOARD up the Civil Service to greater [email protected] Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary, collaboration and challenge, Room 317, 70 Whitehall, Department of Health (chair) showcases excellence and invites London, SW1A 2AS discussion. If the Civil Service is to Alex Aiken, Executive Director, Government Communications be truly world-leading, it needs to Read the magazine online collaborate more, learn from experts and subscribe for free – David Halpern, Chief Executive, outside the Civil Service, listen more quarterly.blog.gov.uk Behavioural Insights Team to the public and front-line staff EDITORIAL TEAM Clare Moriarty, Permanent Secretary, and respond to new challenges with Department for Environment, Food and innovation and boldness. Adam Thorndike, Cabinet Office Rural Affairs [email protected] Any civil servant can write for Sir Richard Lambert, Chairman, Civil Service Quarterly – contact Simon Holder, Cabinet Office Board of Trustees, British Museum [email protected] [email protected] John Pullinger, National Statistician Helen Shephard, Cabinet Office and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Cover photo: ©Crown copyright [email protected] Authority Thanks to Isabel Capp, Sam Beckett, Joint Head, Government Department of Health Economic Service Charles Roxburgh, Director General, MEDIA CONTACT Financial Services, HM Treasury Suzannah Brookner, Cabinet Office Jill Rutter, Programme Director, The GCS Design Centre suzannah.brookner@cabinetoffice. Institute for Government gov.uk Philip Rycroft, Permanent Secretary, Contact us at: DESIGN BY DESIGN102 Department for Exiting the European [email protected] Union, and Head of UK Governance Group, www.design102.co.uk Cabinet Office Issue 18 – October 2018 | CIVIL SERVICE QUARTERLY 3 EDITORIAL The ambition of the Government To close this edition of Civil Estate Strategy is to provide an Service Quarterly, we feature two estate that works for everyone. overseas perspectives on some James Turner, a Deputy Director of the issues and challenges that in the Office of Government governments around the world Property, outlines how the have in common. strategy aims to deliver on the government’s responsibility to Singapore has an international ensure its estate not only delivers reputation for innovation in value for money but also acts as government and public policy. an enabler for its wider policy We asked Charlene Chang from commitments, from releasing the Singapore Government to land for housing, to improving describe its approach to making elcome to this, the 18th public services. the ‘ship of state’ more agile and Wedition of Civil Service responsive to changes in society Quarterly, which takes as its broad The advent of self-driving in a turbulent world. theme, public sector efficiency - vehicles is one of the most from major infrastructure projects exciting and, potentially, Finally, we present our interview to reform of the justice system, transformative developments with Martin Parkinson, Australia’s and government measures to in transport. However, as Iain equivalent of our Cabinet counter fraud. Forbes, Head of the Centre for Secretary. He gives his trenchant Connected and Autonomous views on subjects ranging from In our lead article, Caroline Vehicles in the Department the challenges facing the UK after Low, Director of Heathrow for Transport knows better it exits the EU, to bridging the Expansion, recounts the work of than most, it poses an array gap between policy development the Department for Transport in of questions, legal, moral and and implementation, and promoting and gaining agreement technical. Not least of these rebuilding the public’s trust in the to the government’s case for a is, how does government set institutions that serve them. third runway at Heathrow Airport. a regulatory framework for a This campaign culminated in a technology that is not yet favourable vote in the House of fully formed? Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent Commons in June 2018. Secretary, Department of Health The justice system in England As the Department for and Wales is in the middle of a Education’s Michelle Dyson programme of modernisation sets out, the delivery of the to make it more transparent, government’s manifesto accessible and efficient. As Susan commitment to Acland-Hood, CEO of HM Courts 30 hours of free childcare for & Tribunals Service writes, this eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in involves not only structural England is an object lesson in adjustments, and a move to online successful collaboration services and digital tools that cut between departments. waste and inconvenience, but a fundamental change in the way Public sector fraud comes in the courts and their people work. many different forms. Mark Cheeseman, Deputy Director, How is government nurturing the Public Sector Fraud, surveys the leaders of the future? We feature fraud landscape and explains the the views of participants in two rationale behind the creation of talent development programmes: a specialist Government Counter the Government Digital Service Fraud Profession, which carries a Academy, and the UK Statistics message for would-be fraudsters: Authority’s High Potential “government is not a soft target.” Programme. 4 CIVIL SERVICE QUARTERLY | Issue 18 – October 2018 LANDING THE CASE FOR HEATHROW EXPANSION Caroline Low, Director of Heathrow Expansion, Department for Transport Issue 18 – October 2018 | CIVIL SERVICE QUARTERLY 5 onday 25 June 2018 was Heathrow (put forward by an like Dubai (four runways), Mthe day Parliament voted independent group, Heathrow Frankfurt (four) and Schiphol overwhelmingly in favour of a Hub Ltd), and a new northwest (six) were taking passengers new piece of airport policy. With runway at Heathrow. In its July away from Heathrow and a majority of 296, you would be 2015 final report, the Airports expanding their hubs. We were forgiven for thinking this was a Commission unanimously falling behind in the aviation race. straightforward decision for MPs. recommended that the best But the vote was about airport option for increasing airport So, what did we do? In 2016, after expansion; the proposed location capacity was a new northwest a careful review of the Airports was Heathrow; and the outcome runway at Heathrow, combined Commission’s final report and all was an historic moment. with a significant package the evidence, the government of measures to address its accepted the recommendation The scale of this achievement environmental and community and confirmed its preference becomes apparent when you impacts. But why was it so for a new northwest runway at consider that the Heathrow important that a decision was Heathrow. This was not an easy expansion debate has experienced finally made? decision. All three schemes intense turbulence for 50 years. had their own strengths and From 1968 to now, numerous CRITICAL ASSET weaknesses, and careful work reports and independent was required to ensure the commissions have been set up, Britain has the third largest relative merits were assessed and nearly all have concluded that aviation sector in the world – carefully and impartially. Our the country needs a new runway second only to the USA and job as civil servants is to tune at Heathrow. Clearly, there is China. It is a critical national out the political rhetoric and something of a theme. asset – contributing an annual campaigning around such £22 billion to our GDP, employing projects. Extensive analysis was In 2012 the independent Airports 500,000 people, and carrying 285 required to ensure ministers were Commission was set up after million passengers and 2.6 million able to take a decision based on the Coalition Government tonnes of freight each year.