HOW THE CIVIL SERVICE ANTONIA ROMEO ON HAS PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE FOR UK HOW THE CIVIL SERVICE ANTONIAEU EXIT ROMEO ON TRADE AND SHAPING THE FUTURE FOR UK HAS PREPARED FOR OUREU ROLE EXIT IN THE TRADEA RADICAL AND APPROACH SHAPING WORLD OUR ROLE IN THE TO TACKLING KNIFE TACKLING KNIFE WORLD CRIME IN SCOTLAND CRIME IN SCOTLAND SUE OWEN: REFLECTIONS ON A REFLECTIONS ON A CIVIL SERVICE CAREER CIVIL SERVICE CAREER STRENGTHENED BY ADVERSITY: HOW DEFRA RAISED ITS GAME IN RESPONSE TO EU EXIT Issue 20 June 2019 Subscribe for free here: quarterly.blog.gov.uk #CSQuarterly CONTENTS HOW THE CIVIL SERVICE HAS PREPARED Matthew Coats, Director General, EU Exit Implementation 4 FOR EU EXIT A RADICAL APPROACH TO TACKLING Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government 8 KNIFE CRIME IN SCOTLAND REFLECTIONS ON A CIVIL SERVICE CAREER Dame Sue Owen, former Permanent Secretary, 14 Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport SPOTLIGHT: DELIVERING THE UK’S FIRST Ahad Rawat and Maryke Jesudason, Government Economic Service 18 ECONOMICS DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP DEVOLUTION AT 20: 10 LESSONS FOR Dame Shan Morgan, Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government 20 CIVIL SERVANTS THE EXPERTS WHO ASK THE ‘WHAT IF?’ Martin Clarke, Government Actuary, and Chris Paterson, 24 QUESTIONS Government Actuary’s Department EU EXIT: HOW DEFRA RAISED ITS GAME Tamsin Growney, Senior Policy Adviser, EU Exit Overview, Defra 30 WHAT MAKES FINLAND HAPPY? Päivi Luostarinen, Ambassador of Finland in the UK (September 36 2015 to May 2019) MAKING THE CIVIL SERVICE A GREAT PLACE John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service, and Permanent 42 TO WORK Secretary, Cabinet Office AN INTERVIEW WITH... ANTONIA ROMEO Antonia Romeo, Permanent Secretary, Department for International 46 Trade 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 & Social Care showcases excellence and invites London, SW1A 2AS (chair) discussion. If the Civil Service is to Alex Aiken, Executive Director, be truly world-leading, it needs to Read the magazine online Government Communications collaborate more, learn from experts and subscribe for free – outside the Civil Service, listen more quarterly.blog.gov.uk David Halpern, Chief Executive, Behavioural Insights Team to the public and front-line staff EDITORIAL TEAM and respond to new challenges with Clare Moriarty, Permanent Secretary, innovation and boldness. Adam Thorndike, Cabinet Office Department for Exiting the European [email protected] Union Any civil servant can write for Civil Service Quarterly – contact Simon Holder, Cabinet Office Sir Richard Lambert, Chairman, [email protected] [email protected] Board of Trustees, British Museum Thanks to Shannen Catalan, John Pullinger, National Statistician Cover photo: ©Crown copyright Department of Health and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority MEDIA CONTACT Sam Beckett, Joint Head, Government Matthew Blom, Cabinet Office Economic Service [email protected] Charles Roxburgh, Director General, Financial Services, HM Treasury DESIGN BY DESIGN102 Jill Rutter, Programme Director, Institute for Government Contact us at: [email protected] www.design102.co.uk EDITORIAL Turning to other matters, Civil Service Chief Executive Scottish Government Permanent John Manzoni considers how Secretary Leslie Evans recounts applying the principles of Smarter how policy towards tackling knife Working is supporting the wider crime in Scotland has undergone transformation under way to a sea change over the last create a brilliant Civil Service that decade, with striking results. is a great place to work. Meanwhile, Sue Owen, retiring The latest of our articles focusing Permanent Secretary at the on civil services in other countries Department for Digital, Culture, comes from the outgoing Finnish Media & Sport, looks back at Ambassador to the UK, Päivi WELCOME TO THE 20TH a Civil Service career of great Luostarinen. She argues that EDITION OF CIVIL SERVICE variety and achievement. This her nation’s consistently high QUARTERLY. has taken in spells at No. 10, ranking in international measures HM Treasury and DFID, as well of happiness and stability lthough there is no formal as DCMS. She talks about the stems from a high-performing Atheme running through guiding principles of her career public administration based this edition, several articles and about what has changed - on values such as equality and either focus on or significantly and, in some cases, stayed the transparency. mention the work of the Civil same - over the course of it. Service to prepare government Returning to matters related to and the country for withdrawal Our Spotlight feature in this EU Exit, we close this edition with from the European Union and a edition is trained on the an interview given by Department new global role. Government Economic Service for International Trade (DIT) (GES), and its delivery of the Permanent Secretary Antonia In our lead article, Matthew UK’s first economics degree Romeo. Antonia talks about how Coats, Director General, EU Exit apprenticeship. A priority for DIT is helping to shape the UK’s Implementation, looks in detail the degree programme was to place in the world. at the wide-ranging preparations secure applicants from a diverse for withdrawal – in any scenario, range of backgrounds. Two GES including the possibility of leaving professionals describe how they with ‘no deal’. He reflects on the set about this. “scale and urgency” of the Civil Service response, characterised Twenty years after the creation by collaboration and shared of devolved administrations understanding of the issues. in Scotland and Wales, and Without this, he concludes, the the establishment of a new level of preparedness achieved by Northern Ireland Assembly, 29 March for ‘no deal’ would not Welsh Government Permanent have been possible. Secretary Shan Morgan lays out 10 lessons we have learned from Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent As one of the departments most devolution. Secretary, Department of Health affected by exiting the EU, Defra and Social Care offers a case study of how the The simple explanation of what Civil Service has “raised its game” actuaries bring to government is to prepare for it. Senior policy that they help decision-makers adviser Tamsin Growney gives to understand the challenges a detailed account of the depth around financial risk and and breadth of work required to uncertainty, spend wisely and ready the department, and how save money. As Government this has influenced the way Defra Actuary Martin Clarke explains, sees itself operating in the future. experts in his department make a vital contribution to issues that can affect us all, from the cost of pensions, to amounts paid out in personal injury claims, and planning financial assistance for those affected by natural disasters. 4 CIVIL SERVICE QUARTERLY | Issue 20 – June 2019 HOW THE CIVIL SERVICE HAS PREPARED FOR EU EXIT Matthew Coats, Director General, EU Exit Implementation Matthew Coats The Civil Service has worked for well over two years to prepare for the UK to withdraw successfully from the European Union. In the run-up to 29 March, around 17,000 civil servants were working in EU-Exit-critical roles. They were working to progress over 300 workstreams designed to ensure that the UK is ready to leave the European Union in any scenario. Of course, the date of the UK’s exit has now been extended, potentially until the end of October 2019. If a deal between the EU and UK is agreed and ratified in Parliament before that date, the UK could leave earlier. While our planning for withdrawal continues, this extension gives us a natural point to consider how we have progressed this work to date. Issue 20 – June 2019 | CIVIL SERVICE QUARTERLY 5 PREPARING FOR ‘NO DEAL’ Taking the staff clearing hub as demonstrates the power of an example, the Civil Service HR shared understanding and HOW THE CIVIL SERVICE The Government’s preferred Function had long been working collaboration across the system. outcome has always been that with departments to establish a the UK leaves the EU with a deal. clear picture of demand for exit- Similarly, the communication In the six months prior to 29 related roles. By the end of 2018, campaign that preceded ‘no HAS PREPARED FOR EU EXIT March 2019, the focus of much of it had supported departments deal’ was almost unprecedented the Civil Service’s domestic work in the appointment of around in its scale and urgency. It saw was to make sure that the UK was 11,000 staff in just two years. 145,000 businesses contacted able to leave the EU in the event Early in 2019, when no-deal plans with advice on how to prepare for of there being no deal in place. were intensified, there was an no-deal customs procedures; the As has been said many times, urgent demand for 1,800 new publication of over 106 technical it’s only sensible to prepare for a staff to be placed into a range of notices to inform businesses range of possible outcomes, and no-deal roles. There simply was and citizens about what they given the potential unwelcome not enough time to advertise, may need to do to prepare for consequences that could arise interview, onboard and induct a no-deal scenario, on issues in a no-deal scenario, this was new staff into these posts, ranging from exporting items of a vital contingency measure. It meaning that a different solution cultural interest, to how the UK did, however, present an almost had to be found. would test medicines; and the unique challenge for both the creation of a new GOV.UK service Civil Service and the wider What the HR function did was to ensure people both inside and public service: how best to shift to match departments without outside the UK could understand from one scenario to another in a significant exit workload with the implications of no deal and the fastest possible time, while those that had a lot of work to how to prepare for it.