Issue 307 | June 2021 | www.civilserviceworld.com FORWARD THINKING Alex Chisholm KICKSTARTS CIVIL SERVICE REFORM

DOM AND GLOOM DAVE PENMAN AND ANDY COWPER ON CUMMINGS BOLT AT THE DOOR INSPECTOR’S HOME OFFICE REFLECTIONS OFFICIAL PROTEST A CIVIL SERVANT’S ETHICAL DILEMMA

01 CSW307 cover.indd 1 09/06/2021 11:55:41 ai1621941567144_Appian June event - PlanesTanksShipsPhone.pdf 1 25/05/2021 12:19:28

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Appian June event - PlanesTanksShipsPhone - 230x300 PRINT READY.indd 1 09/06/2021 11:37:54 CONTENTS June 2021

Editorial Published by ON THE COVER [email protected] A photo of 020 7593 5569 Alex Chisholm taken by Photoshot Advertising [email protected] www.civilserviceworld.com 020 7593 5606

RED BOX 4 INBOX Comments and your letter from the editor 6 NEWS New procurement rules, and a call for more ministerial training

OPINION 8 THOMAS POPE How to make a success of post-Brexit subsidies 9 DAVE PENMAN Cummings is playing the blame game, but he hasn’t backed up his claims 10 COLIN TALBOT Did the government really not have a plan for the pandemic? 11 PETER SCHOFIELD The permanent secretary reflects on 20 years of DWP 12 ANDY COWPER DHSC’s future lies in the school funding row

DIGITAL AND DATA 26 CONTROL SHIFT 28 This year has seen the biggest White- hall tech leadership shakeup in a decade

FEATURES 14 HELLO, OPERATOR Alex Chisholm on his first year as civil service COO and his plans for reform 18 HOME IMPROVEMENT How the Home Office is acting on the findings of the Windrush review 22 BOLT OUT THE DOOR The former immigration inspector reflects on the Home Office’s challenges 28 CIVIL RIGHT? 12 22 How an official and activist’s two identities gave her an ethical dilemma

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03 CSW307 Contents.indd 3 09/06/2021 11:57:30 ❯ RED BOX EDITOR’S COLUMN Edited by ❯ RED BOX Sarah Astion FROM THE EDITOR

ominic Cummings’s server watching the ses- marathon seven-hour sion, though, was that much Devidence session before of Cummings’s critique of the health and social care and how the government failed science and technology select was familiar to those who committees last month was have studied his writings compelling Whitehall theatre. on the civil service before. Here was the man who until He said at one point late last year had been the that the failings that were prime minister’s top adviser revealed by the govern- giving us a behind-the-scenes ment’s coronavirus response it is also telling that after well fl ective about what we can take look at the government’s pan- were “programmed by the over a year in government, from the pandemic and, in- demic response as ministers wiring of the system”. Cummings was still more deed, from the EU exit process, and offi cials grappled with He added: “If you have able to describe the prob- the Integrated Review and unrelenting waves of Covid-19. something this bad and you lem than to have solved it. other experiences about what The unprecedented event have got tens and tens of This is perhaps no sur- needs to be done diff erently is being met by an unprec- thousands of people who prise – the civil service is a and better,” Chisholm tells us. edented response in the have died who did not need large and fairly decentralised We await details of what pages of CSW this month. Not to die and massive economic organisation, and it takes time these changes will be, but the one, not two, but three of our destruction... that did not to change anything. But we will tale of Dominic Cummings regular columnists look at the need to happen if we had soon begin to see the fruits of has another lesson – events session and try to weigh up sorted things out earlier, the reform drive that Cum- can, and will, get in the way. Cummings’s assertions: Dave everyone in this country needs mings will always be associ- Life is what happens when you Penman takes on the cross- to face the reality of this.” ated with. In this issue, civil are making Whitehall plans, government claims, Andy These comments chime service chief operating offi cer but for civil service reform to Cowper the alleged failings at with his 2014 comments that and Cabinet Offi ce permanent work, it needs to be clear what the Department of Health and the “huge system in Whitehall, secretary Alex Chisholm sets the problem is that is being Social Care, and Colin Talbot in my opinion, is programmed out the next steps for reform, solved, what plan is to change the pandemic preparedness – to go wrong, it can’t work”. saying that after a period it, and what clear steps are to or lack thereof. All are worth Perhaps Cummings had of “biding our time”, a plan get there. The best civil service reading and cover the initial been right all along and Covid will be published “shortly”. organisations share this clar- skirmishes of what will likely simply exposed problems in There has been consulta- ity of vision and leadership, be the ground that is contested the system that he had long tion on with civil servants for and as the country emerges at the looming public inquiry. spotted – and to some extent, ideas on what should change. fom the pandemic, we will What struck this ob- that is probably the case. But “We’ve also been quite re- need it for the recovery.

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(Jessica Bowie and Suzannah Brecknell are on maternity leave)

4 | June 2021 | civilserviceworld.com

4-5 CSW307 redbox.indd 4 09/06/2021 11:58:08 ❮ CORRESPONDENCE RED BOXEdited by ❯ RED BOX Winnie Agbonlahor

cut from the right cloth, not point to perceived successes from the right university. I later of your ever distant past…” gained a degree but never did But not everyone thought INBOX enough to quite fit in… I hope the project was a bad idea. “I [email protected] this report is a catalyst for real like the clear statement that twitter.com/CSWNews change and the 18-year-old ver- it will be built in the UK and sion of me joining today as an giving it a dual role (perhaps) AA can fulfil their full potential, might further increase the value not just for their sake but for the for money equation: eg Britan- CLASS ACTION information, if you are invited sake of the civil service overall. nia has a secondary role as a Readers weighed in on a to meetings – there are many He added: “Moving jobs and hospital ship and was actually Social Mobility Commission people who are not and do opportunities outside London used in this function in the report that found people from not experience the privilege will help bring more [people Falklands,” Simon Hall wrote. lower socio-economic back- of being included and being from a lower socio-economic “My inclination is to slow down grounds are still underrep- ‘one of us’. This can create an background] in, but a radical on the cries of ‘vanity project’ resented in the civil service, unhappy workforce... Privilege change in culture is required and let’s hear the details first. and can struggle to get on if is relative and not tied to class to enable a true meritocracy It might even be a good idea!” they have not picked up the but to socio-economic status.” to take hold and allow eve- unwritten codes of practice Sunny Thompson wrote: ryone to progress fairly.” and ‘studied neutrality’ “What I would not like to see COMMERCIAL SENSE that benefit those from more is for this to become about And new guidance for on gov- privileged upbringings. equipping people from lower YACHT FOR ME ernment procurement, which “This resonates,” Mo- socio-economic backgrounds Readers were less than instructed departments to not hammed Aziz said. to mimic the methods by which impressed to hear No.10 is automatically give contracts “This is true in my experi- their more privileged col- forging ahead with plans for to the lowest bidder before ence, if you’re not in the ‘club’ leagues rise to the top through a new national flagship, the considering wider benefits, there’s no chance of progression ‘studied neutrality’. Instead, let Royal Yacht Britannia, that sparked some reflections. regardless of background. The us welcome those who are less the prime minister has said “With colossal purchasing studied neutrality approach understated, who dare to show will give British businesses power comes great responsi- results in poor performance, human emotion, and who have a “new global platform”. bility… will be interesting to lack of results and no ac- all kinds of accents. Perhaps I “What vanity and misuse see how departments dem- countability from manage- would say that, as a flamboy- of £200m,” Geoff Eales said. onstrate their social value ment,” agreed Mike Besant. ant and emotional person... But “Another white elephant,” considerations in future tender John Hatton shared a dif- some of my favourite leaders Colin Taylor wrote. evaluations alongside the other ferent perspective. “I can’t say I have also been flamboyant, “More nostalgic empire non-cost elements already in observed much, if any, of what emotional, regional et cetera.” days fantasy running riot play,” Stephen W. wrote. is being claimed here during Claire Lever added: “That’s with the taxpayers’ purse,” R.B.O. added: “Looking at my time in the civil service. If exactly what they do. I was wel- Andrew Hansler said. it from a different angle, some anything, I’d say the selection comed into HMT because of my Owen S. was equally organisations/SMEs are still processes were about as robust, diversity: regional background/ unenthralled with the idea. “So struggling to demonstrate fair and open as I’ve seen perspective and protected char- the government’s masterplan social value initiatives. I person- anywhere. There was also a real acteristic. Yet was constantly to demonstrate the ‘greatness’ ally believe SMEs/companies effort to bring greater diversity trying to be moulded to fit them. of the UK will be to resurrect need to be equipped on how to both to the interview panels I had to say on more than one a tradition of Royal Yachts deliver social value initiatives in and the candidate shortlists. In occasion: ‘just because someone started in 1660, and to justify their tender returns... I strongly terms of promotion and selec- has a northern accent doesn’t this on the basis of the UK be- believe contracting authori- tion it did feel more like a meri- mean they are stupid,’ and even ing a major maritime trading ties still need to create more tocracy than an old boys’ club. worse had to replace stupid nation (it is currently the 10th awareness on how organisa- “Easy for me to say from with ‘poor’ on one occasion.” largest merchant flag carrier, at tions should deliver social value a position much nearer the And Eamonn M. shared <3% of world capacity, behind initiatives and added values.” top than the bottom... and as his experience: “For years I was those other powerhouses of a white, middle-aged bloke – both praised for performing global shipping like Panama, but I’m saying it as someone above what was required yet, Liberia, Malta, Hong Kong, the emanating from a working at the same time, told that if I Bahamas and Marshal Islands). IN THE NEXT ISSUE class background and a state wanted to get on I needed to For a frame of reference, EU We continue our overseaqs tour education. And with a Brum- work on “smoothing off some country flags are 39% of global to consider the benefits of Ger- mie accent. No gripes here.” of my rough edges” – this exact merchant carriers,” he wrote. many’s system of political civil But Rocio Ferro-Adams phrase from different senior “Hard to show and con- servants, and we look at the replied: “This may be true, leaders. I now view this as being vince the world you’re truly lessons for the government’s but privilege comes in many code for not having the right forward looking and think- in-house consultancy forms. If you’re trusted with background, supposedly not ing when all you ever do is

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4-5 CSW307 redbox.indd 5 09/06/2021 11:58:09 Edited by Sarah Astion Ministers ‘need more training’, think tank says Policy Exchange report says courses would give ministers a “better understanding of the implications of policy options”. By Beckie Smith inisters should be made to undergo training as ity to tackle long-term policy problems”, it said. part of a number of wide-ranging reforms to how The report also called on the government to restore Whitehall and the civil service works, a leading Extended Ministerial Offices – and make them sim- think tank has recommended. Government must pler to set up – to improve access to expert advice. do more to attract and retain talented staff, Policy Better-equipped ministers should set out their priorities MExchange’s Reform of Government Commission said – but the civil to departments in a clearer way through “comprehensive and service is not the only place where roadblocks to progress lie. accountable frameworks” – and permanent secretaries must The commission’s recent report, which was endorsed by Cabinet be held to account for delivering them, the report said. Office minister Michael Gove, argued civil service reform must be Ministers should set clear targets for departments and issue accompanied by measures addressing ministerial skills and churn if departments are to achieve their long-term policy priorities. In particular, ministers should undergo policy and delivery- orientated training covering areas including procurement, digital delivery, stats and data, and practical skills like better decision making and chairing meetings, according to the think tank, while prospective ministers should be better prepared for jobs. “Greater ministerial training in such areas will help to ensure that, when policies are designed, ministers have a better understanding of the consequences and implica- tions of different policy options,” the report said. The government’s recent push for ministerial train- “Ministers must use ODPs to hold their own department to account and there must be serious consequences for failure to deliver them”

ing – under which every minister with major infrastruc- ture spending responsibilities must sit a specific course – should be “encouraged, expanded and continued”. Training should be modelled on the infrastructure-focused course set up with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and the Said Business School at Oxford University, the report said. Similar courses would help politicians “understand the trade- offs and difficulties of other areas”, according to the think tank. It stressed that training programmes should be avail- able to junior ministers – who are “often the engine room of government” – and not just secretaries of state. “letters of strategic priorities” to perm secs, the think tank said. And they must also be available to prospective ministers, given Renewal of perm secs’ contracts should then be condi- that those in post will have little time to complete multiple training tional on meeting these targets and on their “track record courses. That should be just one way the government and politi- for reform”, according to the report. Since 2014, perm secs cal parties should work to establish a “pipeline of political talent”, have been appointed for five-year, fixed-term contracts. Policy Exchange said – noting that this additional support should The report also called for ministers to have “ac- be provided for both backbench MPs and opposition spokespeople. tive involvement” in departments’ Outcome Deliv- Such training would help to equip new ministers ery Plans, which will be introduced later this year. to handle the crises they are often faced with upon ar- “Ministers must use ODPs to hold their own depart- riving in office, the report said. However, it argued that ment to account and there must be serious consequences turnover among ministers must also be reduced. for failure to deliver them. ODPs should be published in “At present, ministerial reshuffles are too fre- their entirety (with the usual exemptions for commercially quent and ministers are overstretched by compet- or security sensitive information),” the report said. ing and contradictory expectations,” it said. “There should also be a clear and transpar- Better preparation and support for ministers would ent way for observers to monitor the progress of de- ensure they have “both the incentive and the capac- partments against these plans,” it added.

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06-07 CSW307 News.indd 6 09/06/2021 11:59:47 ❮ NEWS RED BOXEdited by ❯ RED BOX Winnie Agbonlahor New procurement rules ‘to boost social value’ The government’s chief commercial officer tellsRichard Johnstone about the impetus behind the creation of a national procurement policy ew procurement resilience, and tackling climate ance to what issues we want to consider seven factors: guidance for change and reducing waste. concentrate on as a country.” • whether commercial ob- departments is This is intended to improve The national plan forms jectives are aligned to intended to help the ability of government de- part of a number of post-Brexit relevant policies and or- focus efforts partments and other public sec- procurement reforms, with ganisational objectives Naround social value to maximise tor organisations to differentiate legislation planned to replace • whether governance, man- the benefits of public spending, between suppliers. Procurement the inherited EU rules. agement frameworks and the government’s chief com- teams have been told they must Further changes will be controls are integrated, mercial officer has toldCSW . not simply award contracts coming, Rhys Williams said. proportionate and appropri- Gareth Rhys Williams to the lowest bidder when “Although we’ve left the Euro- ate to the commercial work said the new national procure- wider economic benefits can pean Union, we have still got and level of prevailing risk ment policy statement aims be proved, and Rhys Williams European rules in our law, and • whether work is undertaken to increase the benefits of said the aim of the new system one of the things you want to and assigned to people who public spending by streamlin- is to enable officials to properly change is [to move] from what’s have the required capability ing how procurement teams analyse external impacts. called the most economically and capacity to undertake it use government contracts “The problem advantageous tender • whether business needs to meet key policy aims. before was that we to the most advanta- are adequately informed by “The idea is this will be a score people on a geous tender... ‘detun- the commercial strategy to ing’ the emphasis on determine when, and how to cost and trying to procure services and works underline the point • whether market conditions are that we really are ex- sufficiently understood and

“The social value criteria is forcing us to differentiate on quality, and giving central guidance to what issues we want to concentrate on as a country” pecting people to include procurement routes align with these other quality measures, supply capacity and capability particularly the social value • whether contract manage- measures, that are in the NPPS.” ment capability is sufficient He also highlighted that and resources are propor- the policy statement sets tional to complexity and risk out plans to publish more • whether appropriate pro- information on procurement curement systems and data pipelines, and to set standards reporting enables process statement [published] once a number of quality metrics, and for procurement profession- efficiency, robust controls and parliament from the govern- on price. But if we don’t set als across the public sector. effective decision making ment saying ‘we want you to ma- a quality metric that is suf- The guidance says or- jor on these two, three, or four ficiently differentiated, then ganisations should ensure Rhys Williams said the new things’,” he said. “We’re trying price is the deciding factor, they have the right capacity, benchmarking is about “setting to just focus everyone’s efforts because price is obvious. skills and capability to manage standards across the country on national strategic priorities “So what the social value efficient procurements, and on procurement confidence”. rather than just having every- criteria is doing is asking us to must prioritise transparency. He said the new tests will one going off hither and yon.” differentiate between ven- The document calls on “widen the group of public The new policy, published dors, such that we don’t give all public authorities to con- procurers who we are confident on 3 June, sets out three everyone eight out of ten. It is sider benchmarking themselves are sufficiently trained and priorities to be considered in forcing ourselves, in a way, to every year “against relevant sufficient numbers of them procurement: creating new differentiate on quality, and commercial and procurement sufficiently competent to spend businesses, new jobs and new what the national procurement operating standards and other what in a normal year would skills in the UK; improving sup- policy statement is doing is comparable organisations”. be £290bn throughout the plier diversity, innovation and giving a bit of central guid- Benchmarking should whole of the public sector”.

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06-07 CSW307 News.indd 7 09/06/2021 11:59:54 ❯ OPINION THOMAS POPE WILL POST-BREXIT SUBSIDIES WORK? THE GOVERNMENT HAS AN that means the government can design a more flexible system that imposes less bureaucracy on public bodies and businesses. OPPORTUNITY TO DESIGN A BETTER Importantly, however, flexibility and freedom cannot be the SYSTEM THAN THE EU STATE AID sole aim. The government’s own objectives for the system ac- REGIME IT WILL REPLACE, BUT knowledge that subsidies can be damaging. There is a particu- lar risk of “subsidy races” as different parts of the UK compete ITS CURRENT APPROACH RISKS for activity. The system must be effective at preventing these MISSING THE OPPORTUNITY measures that would be harmful for the UK as a whole, as well as encouraging subsidies that support government priorities. he subsidy control bill – announced in the Queen’s Since the UK left the EU, an “interim regime” has required Speech and expected shortly – will be one of the governments and public bodies to self-assess whether their sub- first opportunities for the government to show a sidies comply with broad, hard-to-define principles. There is no “Brexit dividend” by designing a better system than regulator, so the only way to confirm that a subsidy is legal is via a EU state aid rules. It was an opportunity that UK court challenge (which may or may not emerge). The government Tnegotiators fought hard for in Brexit talks last year, and has indicated that it intends the final deal allows the UK to design its own domestic “There is no guarantee to continue with this princi- system to regulate around £8bn of subsidies offered to ples-based approach – with businesses by governments and public bodies each year. that harmful subsidies only a minor role for any reg- If the government designs the system well then it can will be prevented if ulator – in the new legislation. play an important role directing funds towards effective the granting body is A regime like this risks subsidies that deliver on objectives like levelling up and net being the worst of both zero and prevent subsidies that could damage competition responsible for self- worlds. There is no guarantee and growth. But getting this wrong would mean an inef- assessing them” that harmful subsidies will be prevented if the grant- ing body is responsible for self-assessing whether a measure addresses a “public policy objective” or whether the benefits outweigh the costs (two of the six broad principles). But a system that does not provide legal certainty will also deter some public bodies from offering worthwhile subsidies because it is hard to know how to demonstrate the principles are met and there is a risk of court challenge. A new Institute for Government report, Taking Back Control of Subsidies, argues that the system needs clear rules and a strong regulator if it is to be a success. Guid- ance and regulation are needed to clarify what it means to comply with the broad prin- ciples and provide “safe harbours” that guar- antee legal certainty for smaller measures. A further risk with any new system is the potential for high profile and messy fective system that does not protect against wasteful subsidies, legal disputes between the devolved administrations and the UK imposes red tape and legal uncertainty on public bodies and busi- government. A UK-wide system is in the interest of all the admin- nesses and might set up further clashes between Westminster and istrations, but it should be a joint venture, with the Competition the devolved governments. The government can design a success- and Markets Authority reformed to make it a genuine four-nation ful system, but since the end of last year interim arrangements body that can impartially regulate governments across the UK. have been in place. These are deeply flawed, and risk creating a A more effective subsidy control system is within the govern- worse system than the EU regime that the UK has left behind. ment’s grasp, but unless it alters its approach then public bodies, Under the EU system, the European Commission plays a gate- businesses and taxpayers may be forced to work within an ineffec- keeper role: all subsidies are illegal unless and until the commis- tive system. They could well end up wondering why leaving the sion approves them. This allows the commission to retain control orbit of EU state aid rules was such a priority in the first place. of subsidies in 27 countries, each with different approaches to public spending. But the result is a system that is slow and inflex- Thomas Pope is the Institute for Government’s ible. The UK system will not face these same constraints. And deputy chief economist

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08 CSW307 opinion IfG.indd 8 09/06/2021 12:00:13 ❯ OPINION COLUMNIST ❮ OPINION DAVE PENMANTIME FOR DOM TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP THE PRIME MINISTER’S FORMER of Rishi Sunak or Michael Gove, who it would appear never put a foot wrong on Covid. We were treated to the usual sweeping TOP ADVISER FIRED BROADSIDES criticisms of “the machine” that didn’t understand, wasn’t pre- ACROSS ALL OF WHITEHALL pared, was structurally incapable – as he battled bravely, always IN HIS EVIDENCE ON THE driven by the science. Except, of course, when he found time to wage the culture war against the civil service, undermining it and GOVERNMENT’S CORONAVIRUS its leadership and briefi ng the press on an almost daily basis. RESPONSE. BUT WE GOT MORE He is apparently a fan of speaking truth unto power – com- ACCUSATIONS THAN FACTS ing as close to a compliment as you’ll get – when retelling the moment when apparently Helen McNamara, the deputy t was a soul-baring, tell-all TV spectacular. Too long, but then cabinet secretary burst into the room with an expletive-laced they always are, and it really dragged in parts. In the end outburst that would have made Malcolm Tucker blush. though, we came away with a better picture of the man him- What there wasn’t was a lot of evidence. I would say it’s time to self. And of course, Keir Starmer’s Life Stories was OK as well. put up or shut up but I fear Dominic Cummings, the artist formerly known as he is incapable of the latter. I“career psychopath”, gave a marathon seven-hour evi- For me, the most dence session to the combined health and science and telling moment was technology select committees. Just like baking your fi rst when he suggested he sourdough loaf in lockdown, you wonder whether all that knew it was all going e ort was really worth the few bite-size pieces you come wrong when the prime away with. Sure, they were tasty, but seven hours! minister didn’t do as he was told. I’m “Whilst the point of paraphrasing of course, but a select committee that was es- hearing is to get the sentially his facts, I never got the point and here lies feeling that was Hard the prob- Rain Man’s agenda” lem. Not so much He started his evidence with a heart- that he felt apology. I don’t know whether the thought he Hard Rain Man is really the communica- could tell tion and campaign genius some think the PM what to do, as that ship had sailed a he is, but the abject apology for whatever long time ago. He had been allowed to oper- heinous crime you’re alleged to have com- ate like this with the PM’s authority. Every mitted is the go-to strategy. Get it out there decision, every leaned-on o cial, every briefi ng straight away as well, then spend the next six to the press: all of it was done in the prime min- hours and 58 minutes qualifying it by pointing ister’s name. This of course suited the PM down the fi nger at everyone else, making clear your to the ground, providing plausible deniability. real crime was not doing more to stop them. Cummings was, after all, only a special adviser, We also had the revelation that “Yes, I did a temporary civil servant. We know how much the talk to people unauthorised.” Really, Dom? You prime minister respects the ministerial code, and spoke to the press? Well tickle my toes and call on this it is absolutely clear: “The responsibility me Charlie, who knew? I think the real surprise for the management and conduct of special advis- was that he had time to do anything else. ers, including discipline, rests with the minister There were some moments of insight, but who made the appointment. Individual ministers whilst the point of a select committee hear- will be accountable to the prime minister, parlia- ing is to get the facts, I never got the feel- ment and the public for their actions and deci- ing that was Hard Rain Man’s agenda. sions in respect of their special advisers.” I came away feeling that what I’d witnessed was Whatever Cummings ultimately is, hero not so much the rewriting of history, more a selec- or monster, he is a product of the power tion of the bits that suit his narrative. The people granted to him by the prime minister. he’s decided are culpable – or that he’s just fallen out with – got it both barrels, Boris Johnson and Matt Dave Penman is the general Hancock in particular. There was little mention secretary of the FDA union

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09 CSW307 Penman.indd 9 09/06/2021 12:01:04 OPINION❯ ❯ COLUMNISTOPINION COLIN TALBOT WHY WE WEREN’T READY FOR COVID-19 DOMINIC CUMMINGS HAS system, as it had previously been called. Their first step was to move responsibility from the Home Office to the Cabinet Office CLAIMED THERE WAS NO and create the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in July 2001. PLAN FOR A PANDEMIC Even as the new system was being formed two more events WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS emphasised the need for it. In February 2001 an outbreak of foot and mouth disease started in the UK and lasted all year. And then STRUCK WAS HE RIGHT? passenger planes were flown into the Twin Towers in New York hen Dominic Cummings sensationally and the Pentagon in Washington DC – 9/11 shook the world. claimed that there was no plan to deal with Over the next few years the government put a lot of effort a pandemic, was he right? And was his in creating a modern civil contingencies system. The most vis- blaming of Whitehall right? There were ible evidence of this was the passing of the Civil Contingen- plans – but they were neglected, under- cies Act in 2004, which imposed duties on a range of public Wfunded and didn’t suit the government of Boris Johnson. and some private bodies to prepare for dealing with a national In the mid-2000s the then-Labour government spent emergency. This in turn led to the government producing quite a lot of energy establishing a civil contingencies sys- an annual National Risk Register, first published in 2008. tem – and passed a Civil Contingencies Act – precisely At the top of the risk matrix was “pandemic influen- to prepare for a national emergency like a pandemic. In- za” – a place it continued to occupy in every National Risk deed, a pandemic was the top of the risk register – though Register until now. The threat of a pandemic – not just in- it was expected to be a flu pandemic, not coronavirus. fluenza – should have become ever clearer as first SARS So why can Cummings plausibly claim 15 (2003) and then MERS (2012) highlighted the danger. years later that “there was no plan”? Over the next eight years contingency planning carried on – Let’s go right back to the year 1999 and the millennium numerous guidance and planning documents were published, and indeed some explicitly focused on a possible pandemic. In 2016 the Westminster government even carried out a massive exercise – called Cygnus – simulating a pandemic flu outbreak and response. Over three days in October, 950 participants from devolved administrations, the Department of Health and 12 other central government departments, NHS Wales, NHS England, Public Health England, eight Local Resilience Forums and six prisons took part. It included four simulated Cobra meetings. But it seems clear that the political inter- est in planning for disasters and emergencies that was strong in the period from 2000 until about 2008 had waned considerably since then. In 2008 the global financial crisis gripped almost all the government’s attention. It was followed by the growing political crisis of the Brown “The 2016 Cygnus exercise government, the 2010 general Fueling change The September 2000 fuel election and then the coalition protests lead to civil contingency reform illustrated many problems, but government – and auster- few of them were addressed” ity – occupied centre stage. bug. In the run-up to 2000 there was wide- Although a lot of con- spread fear that computer systems that only used two digits tingency planning carried on behind the scenes, interest and to denote the year would crash when the year became “00”. funding dwindled. The Cygnus exercise illustrated many prob- Huge amounts of effort were expended ensuring that the millen- lems, but few of them were addressed. And it focused on a flu nium bug didn’t bring on the collapse of civilisation. And it didn’t. pandemic – despite the SARS and MERS episodes – which has But it did highlight the need to be alert for big, improbable but significant differences with Covid-19 pandemic that has arrived. high-impact events – what later became known as “black swans”. Some of the issues could not have been foreseen – but The fear of such events was heightened when Britain many could, and indeed were. It’s fair enough to sug- was hit by several examples. In the year 2000 it was fuel and gest some of the mistakes were systemic – but in the end floods. In September protests by lorry drivers who blockaded it was people who decided not to prepare properly and al- fuel storage and distribution almost brought the country to a low the civil contingencies system to atrophy. standstill. Then in October the UK experienced extensive flood- ing – the Met Office reported it was the worst since 1947. Colin Talbot is emeritus professor of government These three crises prompted the New Labour government of at the University of Manchester and a research Tony Blair to start reforms to the UK’s antiquated civil defence associate at the University of Cambridge

10 | June 2021 | civilserviceworld.com

10 CSW307 Colin Talbot.indd 10 09/06/2021 12:03:11 ❯ OPINION DWP PERM SEC ❮ REFLECTIONS PETER SCHOFIELD 20 YEARS OF DWP THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORK 2.2 million calls in a single day, to standing up vital new pro- grammes such as Kickstart and Job Entry: Targeted Support, DWP AND PENSIONS HAS MARKED ITS has continued to support people when they need us most. We are TWO DECADES IN EXISTENCE BY boosting opportunities for jobseekers and giving vital new hope to COORDINATING ONE OF THE KEY those who have found themselves without it due to the pandemic. Our pandemic response would have been unthinkable 20 years ELEMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ago, from the rapid roll out of home working to the flexibility to PANDEMIC RESPONSE, SAYS redeploy 10,000 colleagues at such pace. The adaptations to our ITS PERMANENT SECRETARY services, the abilities and diversity of colleagues, and stronger organisational structure have ensured we are able to work across n 8 June 2001, the then-prime minister Tony Blair team boundaries, across the civil service to get the job done. announced the creation of the Department for Work I am hugely grateful to DWP colleagues, who have worked and Pensions, responsible for employment, equality, tirelessly and passionately to help the millions of citizens who benefits, pensions and child support. It was formed have needed us. In fact, approximately 45% of our colleagues from the Department for Social Security and most of have been with us on this long journey, as they’ve worked in Oits agencies, including the Benefits Agency, Child Support Agency DWP for the last 20 years or more. I often ask long service col- and Appeals Service, and the employment part of the Department leagues: “What was it like to work in DWP in the past and for Education and Employment, including the Employment Service in its entirety. Back then, the Department for Work and Pensions was created with the purpose “to promote opportunity and independence for all”. That’s still very much at the heart of what we do – supporting people to improve the quality of their lives – and even more so over the course of the pandemic. Our success over the past year has only been possible because of the advances we’ve made as a department over the last 20 years. When we came together as a depart- “DWP has continued to ment in 2001, this was support people when they only the beginning of need us most, giving vital our story. In 2002, we created Jobcentre Plus, new hope to those who have which brought togeth- found themselves without er the Employment it due to the pandemic” Service and Benefits what should we hold onto?” Usually the answer is Agency – this was a about how we work together to help society. And to huge physical and cultural shift for our colleagues and customers. me, a DWP that works seamlessly together across govern- Then in 2008, the recession hit. Back then we were referred ment and across society to help improve people’s lives is at the to as the “fourth emergency service” as we were such a life- heart of our success. We’re now, more than ever, One DWP. line for people in need, very similar to this past 15 months. Looking to the future, I know the department will continue In 2011, we brought our agencies inside to become One DWP to fight for and deliver for those who need us. Immediate priori- and the year after we made reforms to key services like pensions ties include our Plan for Jobs, getting people into work – such and child maintenance to help our customers even further. as through Kickstart – and implementing the government’s Then in 2013, the rollout of the digitised, single-payment Disability Strategy. There is also more to do to build back bet- benefit system that is Universal Credit began, by 2016 it was live in ter: for example, my department will be leading the push for every jobcentre and by 2017 we had 100,000 claims. Back then, we greener pension investments as we look to COP26 and beyond. couldn’t predict that we would have the capacity to process what Twenty years ago, no one could have predicted the changes we’ve experienced with the pandemic, but the system has proven we have seen, and I am proud that my colleagues came to- itself over the last 15 months beyond doubt. But this is just one part gether to help society when it was needed most. of the wider digital shift we’ve experienced over the last 20 years. Back to the modern day, from processing an unprecedented 2.7 Peter Schofield is permanent secretary at the million new Universal Credit claims and answering an astonishing Department for Work and Pensions

civilserviceworld.com | June 2021 | 11

11 CSW307 DWP Peter Schofield.indd 11 09/06/2021 12:03:56 ❯ OPINION ANDY COWPER THE TREASURY’S BACK – AND SO IS DOM high-profile news. And civil servants in all areas of govern- ment would be forgiven for having ordered in popcorn and some suitable liquid refreshment for the man who infa- mously promised (borrowing from octogenarian song-and- dance-man Bob Dylan) a hard rain on the civil service. Cummings was on incendiary form over the sev- en-hour session. He apologised several times for his own part in the failures of the government. According to Cummings, a senior DHSC official told THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND then-deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara that the long-vaunted pandemic plans did not in fact exist. SOCIAL CARE – AND ITS SECRETARY MacNamara went straight to see Cummings in Down- OF STATE – HAS HAD ANOTHER ing Street, reportedly saying: “I think we are absolutely MONTH IN THE HEADLINES. BUT fucked. I think this country’s heading for disaster. I think DID IT JUST SEE ITS FUTURE IN we’re going to kill thousands and thousands of people”. THE SCHOOL FUNDING ROW? The alleged Hancock-ups Cummings also shipped copious amounts of blame straight he most important event in government policy and onto secretary of state for health and social care Matt Hancock. politics as regards health and care over the past When Rosie Cooper MP asked Cummings to Ofsted- month was in education. Sounds odd, but it’s true. rate the performance of DHSC and Hancock (outstanding, Sir Kevan Collins’s resignation as the gov- good, requires improvement, inadequate), he replied: “I think ernment’s education catch-up tsar might not the secretary of state should have been fired for at least 15 Tinstantly have got you thinking about the health and care to 20 things, including lying to everybody on multiple oc- sector. But it should. Because as many shrewd observ- casions in meeting after meeting in the cabinet room and ers swiftly noted, it marked the re-assertion of the tra- publicly… I said the secretary of state should be fired; so did ditional Treasury mindset over public spending. the cabinet secretary; so did many, many other people”. The pandemic enforced huge increases in the Cummings said: “There were lots of state’s role as the lender and spender of last resort. great people [working in DHSC] but Collins’s bid for £15bn over three financial years for “The row over the procurement system which they educational catch-up did not seem (and probably education catch up were operating was just completely wasn’t) outlandish, in the context of the £37bn made cash marked the hopeless. On the day the PM tested available for NHS Test and Trace, or the £340bn ap- positive, I was told by officials that proximate overall cost of the Covid-19 crisis response. re-assertion of the DHSC were turning down ventilators traditional Treasury because their price had been marked Guess who’s back? The Treasury mindset over up. It completely beggars belief that The government’s proposed decimation of the sum sort of thing was happening. I was hav- requested – they offered just £1.4bn – sends an un- public spending” ing PPE meetings that said delivery will ambiguous message: the magic money tree has been take months because shipping stuff. fenced off. The Treasury – the bank that likes to say “no” – is back Why shipping? Because that’s what we always do. I had to leave in the driving seat, so fasten your fiscal seat belts nice and tight. meetings, tell people to commandeer planes, go get the PPE.” Of course, this matters for every part of the government Cummings also criticised Hancock’s pledge to hit and the civil service. Yet maybe it matters most of all for 100,000 tests a day by the end of April 2020 (which was the health and care sector. Here are a few reasons why. only met by gaming the numbers). He claimed that Han- The NHS waiting list was huge before Covid-19 hit. It now cock contradicted his directives to get test and trace prop- stands at almost 5 million people: the longest since accurate erly established for the long term, diverting staff and hold- records began. NHS workforce shortages remain significant, ing back tests to help in hitting his 100,000 pledge. and the capital and maintenance backlog hit £8bn last year. “He should have been fired for that alone. That itself meant Social care still lacks any sign of the gov- that the whole of April was hugely disrupted by different parts ernment’s long-promised plan. of Whitehall fundamentally trying to operate in different ways, On top of all this, dealing with Covid-19 has left completely because Hancock wanted to be able to go on TV and much, if not most, of the workforce stressed and tired, say ‘look at me and my target I’ve hit’.” Cummings concluded. and possibly traumatised. Their reward? Staff in the “The cabinet secretary told the PM that the British political NHS in England have been offered a 1% pay rise. system cannot cope with a secretary of state who lies repeat- edly in meetings. We couldn’t get to grips with test and trace Cometh the hour, cometh the Dom until we got it out of DHSC and into a separate agency.” The past month has not, however, been without some fairly Nor did the prime minister escape the firing line:

12 | June 2021 | civilserviceworld.com

12-13 CSW307 cowper.indd 12 09/06/2021 14:22:34 ❯ OPINION COLUMNIST ❮ OPINION

Cummings told the Covid-19 lessons learned commit- We should of course bear in mind that so far Cummings has tee that “after April 2020, there was no proper border produced no corroborating witness statements nor documen- policy because the PM did not want one. His argument tary evidence. These are, as such, allegations rather than facts. was that lockdown had been a terrible mistake”. Hancock’s own testimony to the committee is likely to He claimed that “the prime minister already is about 1,000 be quite gripping viewing, too. His friend and horse-racing times far too obsessed with the media, in a way that under- chum, Conservative peer Baroness Dido Harding (ex- mined him doing his own job. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got test and trace boss, newly returned to her NHS Improve- great people doing communications, if the PM changes his ment chair role) hit the news as a potential candidate to mind 10 times a day, and then calls up the media and contra- replace Sir Simon Stevens as the boss of NHS England. dicts his own policy, day after day after day, you’re going to Baroness Harding gave a combative interview to BBC Wom- have a communications disaster… We cannot change our mind an’s Hour defending the performance of NHS Test and Trace, every time the Telegraph writes an editorial on the subject”. claiming not to have read the negative media coverage and that Cummings confirmed that the BBC’s account of the prime expectations were set too high. “This year, we’ve learned that test minister saying he’d rather see “bodies pile high” than intro- and trace is part of the response, but not a silver bullet for return duce another lockdown in the autumn was accurate: “I heard to normal. It’s not possible to do it with test and trace alone.” that: it was after the 31 October decision to lock down.” The noble baroness also claimed in conclusion that she Cummings added that “my relationship with the PM is “not a politician” and is “not here to campaign for some- declined after the second lockdown in October, which thing”. She is, of course, a Conservative peer, who within he thought I blamed him for – and I did. The heart of the 24 hours appeared prominently in both the Sunday Times problem was, fundamentally, I regarded him as unfit for and on Woman’s Hour in relation to the chief executive va- the job and I was trying to create a structure around him cancy at NHS England. Eyebrows might well raise. to try and stop what I thought were extremely bad deci- sions and push other things through against his wishes”. Andy Cowper is the editor of Health Policy Insight

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12-13 CSW307 cowper.indd 13 09/06/2021 14:22:35 ALEX CHISHOLM ❮ COVER INTERVIEW

Alex Chisholm has had a busy first year as civil service chief operating officer. Now the UK is looking towards its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, he tells Beckie Smith about his priorities for the months ahead, and how the plans for civil service reform are shaping up FORWARD

OPERATIONS14 | June 2021 | civilserviceworld.com

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ver the last year that because there’s been a terrific element Alex Chisholm has of consultation across the civil service,” been chief operating Chisholm says. “We’ve also been quite CHISHOLM ON... WHETHER officer of the civil reflective about what we can take from THE GREENSILL SCANDAL HAS service and Cabinet the pandemic and, indeed, from the EU DENTED PUBLIC CONFIDENCE Office permanent exit process, the Integrated Review and IN THE CIVIL SERVICE secretary, very much other experiences about what needs “I’m going to go out on a limb and say I has been said about to be done differently and better.” actually think that it won’t have damaged Whitehall reform. It Data has been a big focus of the confidence in the civil service. The view was a high-profile government’s work this year, with the public has of the civil service is based priority of the prime analysis of stats from across govern- on millions of interactions every day: in minister’s former ment informing the Covid response and benefits offices, in dealing with the tax top adviser Domi- datasets being opened to the public, authorities, and the experience of people nic Cummings, whose pre-No.10 writ- and Chisholm says he wants to build working in education, health, and through- ings on the subject – and indeed some on civil servants’ skills in that area to out the public service. From those interac- when he was in the building – meant improve the way services are delivered. tions, the public actually have a lot of trust Othe inner workings of the government He also wants to encourage what he and confidence in civil servants... I think machine suddenly had an unusually high calls, in classic mandarin style, “inte- that with this sense that fellow citizens prominence in the national discussion. grated solutions to interconnected chal- have had to rely on civil servants to act with Concrete details on what changes lenges” like the government’s levelling- amazing courage and commitment through might be in the offing have been slow up agenda; the net-zero-goal; economic the pandemic, we’ll probably have added to emerge, though – understandably, recovery from the pandemic; increasing to that rather than taking anything away. since the civil service has had one or two trade under the “Global Britain banner”. “Although Greensill has provided some more pressing priorities to focus on. All of these cut across departments and alarming headlines, I think the focus will But as the UK starts to emerge from UK administrations, “so it is enormously tend to move onto corporate governance the worst throes of the coronavirus important that we are really joined up in standards and regulation rather than what pandemic – and an effective way,” it tells you about the civil service – which now the country Chisholm says. isn’t very much, because the reality is has finally left the As part of that, that 99% of civil servants wouldn’t rec- EU – the gears are “If the profile of he has been work- ognise this picture of lobbying, second turning again. the organisation ing with No.10, jobbing and the other things that are As well as the the Treasury alleged because that’s just no part of not-inconsiderable is that you need and the cabinet their world. So I think it’s a distraction. tasks of helping to be in an old- secretary, Simon “It also shows that there are some guide the civil fashioned building Case, on a “one lessons that can be learned, I think, service through a centre approach” about public appointments and about pandemic and the in Whitehall, that is to coordinating management of conflicts of interest. Brexit transition much less inviting work towards I’m sure we will learn them when we get period, Chisholm than something these ambitious the report from Nigel Boardman. And it has been work- goals. That think- also probably tells us some things about ing behind the which is in a town ing has shaped the value of supply chain finance, but I scenes on turn- or city near you” government’s don’t think it will make a big difference ing those gears. approach to to the civil service and our reputation.” A civil service planning this and reform plan is in last year’s spend- the works to be published “shortly” – ing reviews, the management of of attention” it normally would, given he won’t be more specific than that. government's more than 200 major the dual crises civil servants have been “It’s been a tremendous year from projects, and the introduction of new working on in the last couple of years. the perspective of the challenges that Outcome Delivery Plans (see box). “So I’m keen to make sure... that we really we’ve had to face and we’ve risen to. I’m He is also working to embed a new redouble our efforts to make a success filled with admiration, genuinely, for approach to risk management, he says, of those things and tackle inequalities what the civil service has been able to referring to external reviews such as that have become even further exposed do. We’ve all had a really powerful sense the one being conducted by Depart- during the experience of the pandemic.” of mission – that’s never been stronger,” ment for Business, Energy and Industrial he says, listing some of the many huge Strategy non-executive director Nigel s well as the very real inequalities pieces of work civil servants have pulled Boardman in the wake of the Green- affecting the UK population the together since the pandemic struck – sill scandal (see box), and a review of A government must address in the among them the furlough scheme, the the Cabinet Office by one of its erst- wake of the pandemic, the civil ser- vaccine rollout and the Universal Credit while ministers, Lord Francis Maude. vice still has inequalities of its own. support for people who lost jobs. Chisholm acknowledges that all of A report from the Social Mobility While all of that has been happen- this – along with addressing the Con- Commission last month found people ing, “we’ve been biding our time [on servative Party's 2019 manifesto com- from disadvantaged backgrounds are reform]… but we haven’t wasted that time, mitments – “hasn’t had the same level still “significantly underrepresented”

civilserviceworld.com | June 2021 | 15

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within the civil service. Those that make it sometimes struggle to climb the ladder because of what it called “alienating and intimidating” unspoken behavioural codes that their better-off colleagues have learned through their upbringing and privileged education. In fact, the number of senior civil servants from working-class or “low social eco- nomic backgrounds” has actually fallen slightly from 19% in 1967 to 18% now. where it feels very modern, it’s very vis- Asked about the report, Chisholm says ible, it doesn’t feel locked in the past.” the civil service now compared to when “Ministers will He points out that many of the new he joined more than 30 years ago is like always attract government hubs that departments are “chalk and cheese”. “It’s unbelievable, moving officials into as part of the Places the progress that’s been made,” he says, people around for Growth programme are “glass and noting that 62% of civil servants went them. If ministers steel constructions”. And seeing the to a non-selective state school and 31% want to work officials that appear in front of those identify as coming from a lower socio- buildings at press conferences and economic background. The senior civil outside of London, turn up at local meetings, working with service – including the top echelon of that sends a really businesses and local authorities “will permanent secretaries – is now “as open positive message” help change people’s perception about to women as men”, he adds. “So that’s what the civil service is like”, he adds. really helped, I think. When you look at “But I think that it’s already seen the top of the organisation, if you feel as being very open to people from any that people like you are not represented tion”, he adds, nodding to the ongoing background. And we just need to nudge amongst that group, it’s discouraging.” drive to move more civil servants out a couple more points on the dial to re- He says talent schemes focused on of London. “I think if the profile of the ally, truly make sure that every aspect underrepresented groups, internships organisation is that you need to be in of it is representative and inclusive.” and apprenticeships are all good ways an old-fashioned looking building in to address the remaining disparities. Whitehall or Westminster, that is much he government has always had Attracting a more diverse civil service less inviting than something which is outposts outside London, and it will is “about the profile of the organisa- in a town or city near you – and also T take more than a few office moves 16 | June 2021 | civilserviceworld.com

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to make the civil service representa- tive of the many UK regions it serves. Chisholm says unlike previous attempts, this programme isn’t focused as heav- ily on moving delivery-focused roles. “So that is different this time around: we’ve got a lot of policy roles as well. Also that many senior civil servants are transferring roles as well as the more operational and junior roles,” he says. “That won’t be a surprise to HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions, for example, which have always had a strong representation across the whole of the UK. But it is a change for a number of very policy-heavy departments,” he says. He says another thing that will make a “big difference” to the pro- gramme’s success is a strong ministe- rial presence. “Ministers will always attract people around them for meet- ings and for visits and all of that. And work outside of London offices, that so if ministers themselves want to sends a really positive message.” Recent press releases about office “I think Greensill openings have signalled ministers will spend time in their “second homes”, and won’t have CHISHOLM ON... OUT- housing secretary Robert Jenrick has damaged COME DELIVERY PLANS promised to spend “as much time as I confidence in the “I’m really optimistic about those. The can” in his ministry’s new Wolverhamp- original basis for the Single Departmental ton HQ. Exactly what that looks like re- civil service. The Plans [which ODPs are replacing] was solid, mains to be seen, though, and CSW won- public actually but they were done very differently between ders if some politicians might take some have a lot of trust different departments and that made it persuading to get out of the big smoke. difficult to make comparisons and limited “A lot of it will vary between individu- and confidence in external transparency and accountability. als. And of course, the location of their civil servants” And they also tried to do too many things – constituency can make quite a difference,” they became long lists or compendiums of Chisholm says. And, he points out, parlia- activity. ODPs are more selective, they’re ment’s rules around voting and other mat- more consistent, there’s been a real effort ters often dictate when MPs need to be more than just outposts would be to have to join up the allocation of resources against in Westminster. Asked if that could prove two to three perm secs outside London. those declared priorities and plans. There a serious barrier to ministers working Can Chisholm see that happening? are much clearer metrics than we’ve had out of regional offices, Chisholm answers “I think it’s increasingly likely, not before, which are related much more to carefully: “I think that some evolution least because a number of departments outcomes achieved rather than just outputs. of parliamentary practice will definitely now have two permanent secretaries, “This is year one; I bet we can do better help with multi-site working across the often with more of an operational support in year two. We also need to make sure that UK... I need to be careful not to exceed or delivery role. So that at least doubles people walk the walk as well as talk the talk, my brief because these are parliamen- your chances – probably more than but I think it’s a far better framework for try- tary rules, but it’s probably something to doubles of chances, because very often ing to prioritise government activity. All of us consider as well around equal opportuni- the workforces that are involved in those who work in the civil service know that one ties for participation between the sexes more operational roles are themselves of our tendencies is to throw ourselves into as well – and people at different stages in very largely outside of London,” he says. situations and we do tend to overcommit. their careers and in their parenting, for “So from the perspective of being That also can be a tendency in the political example, or with caring responsibilities. closer to the people that you are leading, process as well. So using these plans to try “So there are probably a number there’s a lot to be said for new locations.” and be very disciplined about what we de- of ways in which I suspect parlia- He points out that Angela McDonald, liver against those promises – seeing things ment will want to evolve to become who became second permanent secretary through on time, on budget and making a fully modern organisation, making at HM Revenue and Customs last sum- sure that all the essential work gets done – use of that technology and respond- mer, is based in Leeds. Having leaders that will make a huge difference, especially ing to social change around it.” outside the capital means civil servants when it’s measured by the gains to the end What about permanent secretaries? are "more visible" and seen as more ac- user in society, our fellow citizens, and not The Social Mobility Commission’s recent cessible to the public – and for both the just by conformance with an output plan.” report suggested one way to ensure reform plans and the levelling-up agenda, departments’ new regional offices are he says, that can only be a good thing.

civilserviceworld.com | June 2021 | 17

14-17 CSW307 chisholm interview.indd 17 09/06/2021 12:05:57 HOME OFFICE REFORM ❮ FEATURE

The Home Office has embarked on a wide- ranging reform effort following the Windrush scandal. Senior officials tell Richard Johnstone about the need for change

HOME

TRUTHS18 | June 2021 | civilserviceworld.com

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crutiny comes with the ter- and networks to contribute to the val- has more Black, Asian and Minority ritory in the Home Office. ues and purpose of the organisation Ethnic staff than any other department, The department, described and how it will turn them into reality”. making up 23% of its workforce, but by its own top minister two Rycroft tells CSW: “My instinct was accepts that at “every single step up decades ago as “not fit for to use Wendy Williams’s really com- the hierarchy, the proportion falls”. purpose”, has long been pelling and really hard-hitting report “By the time you get to the senior civil subject to a high level of oversight from as the burning platform to drive the service, that proportion is down to 7-8%, Sparliament, media and civil society groups. cultural shift in the department. And a really shocking fall off,” he says. “So And, many would say, for good rea- how we deal with race in the depart- we are doing something right in attract- son. The Windrush scandal revealed ment is absolutely central to that.” ing people into the Home Office, but a department that had been wrongly This led to the development of the Race the bad news is most of them are in the deporting British citizens who arrived Action Programme to take on the pro- most junior grades. So we’ve got a mas- in the UK between 1948 and 1973. A cess of culture change in the department. sive job to really focus on promotion and subsequent inquiry found many people progression, and that is one of the big from Commonwealth countries had been things that we’ve been focusing on.” denied their rights due to the depart- Rycroft says one key action has been ment’s “hostile environment” policy. improving the performance management The department will be in the system, which represented “probably the spotlight in the weeks and months biggest single thing” that came out of his ahead for how it responds to the re- conversation with colleagues on how to view into the scandal, which set out a improve representation in the department. series of recommendations to ensure Rycroft joined the Home Office from those mistakes are never repeated. the Department for International Develop- The scandal shook the department, ment, where he was perm sec from January claiming its cabinet minister and a 2018 to March 2020. He said one thing he group of senior civil servants. Current did not expect to find at the Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft was “a very serious concern” from Black, acknowledges the official Asian and Minority inquiry, undertaken by Ethnic colleagues about Wendy Williams, got “If you look at the numbers, there’s performance manage- “pretty close to saying ment and the way they that the department is definitely something going wrong felt the system was institutionally racist”. – BAME staff were underachieving “biased against them”. “She didn’t get that “If you just look at far,” says Rycroft, who in terms of performance and pay, the numbers, there’s took up the post the definitely something week after the report and and were overly represented in the going wrong – the Black, its 30 recommendation bottom tranches” Matthew Rycroft Asian, and Minority were published. “But Ethnic staff were undera- she did say the depart- chieving in terms of ment had shown ‘institutional ignorance Programme team head Hamid Motraghi performance and pay, and were overly and thoughtlessness towards the issue says the review put increased emphasis on represented in the bottom tranches [of of race and the history of the Windrush issues of race in the department. “When the department’s performance man- generation’. That’s what she found the the review was published, and when Mat- agement system],” Rycroft says. Home Office grievously guilty of.” thew came in, we used that opportunity The system was based on a broader The Williams review made four to really look at where we can align the civil service system that unions and recommendations specifically address- thinking of the department,” he says. others have argued is discriminatory. ing race issues in the Home Office, The Race Action Plan launched in Data from across departments and agen- including the creation of an overarch- July 2020, following what Motraghi calls cies has consistently shown that em- ing strategic race advisory board, “a period of reflection”. It was compiled ployees from Black, Asian and Minority chaired by the permanent secretary and after consultation with the department’s 10 Ethnic backgrounds are less likely to with external experts as members. directorate race champions, as well as with receive the top performance rating and It also called for a revised diver- Rycroft (who is also the overall civil service more likely to receive the lowest rating sity and inclusion strategy, including race champion) and Tyson Hepple, the compared to their white colleagues. targets for improving the number of Home Office’s race champion and direc- Motraghi says the performance man- Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic of- tor general for immigration enforcement. agement regime was a “real thorn in the ficials in the senior civil service, and The plan sets out a number of meas- side for a lot of staff for several years”, a detailed plan for achieving them. ures to increase the number of Black, so the new system represented “a huge These recommendations were in- Asian and Minority Ethnic people in change for the department”. The new tended by Williams to form part of “a senior roles, with the aim of matching system, which has been put in place for programme of major cultural change representation in the Home Office SCS the current assessment year, has removed for the whole department and all staff, to the proportion in society by 2025. mid-year and end-of-year performance aimed at encouraging the workforce Rycroft notes that the Home Office assessment ratings, and reduced the

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18-21 CSW307 Home Office windrush.indd 19 09/06/2021 12:06:43 HOME OFFICE REFORM ❮ FEATURE

administrative burden of performance change, with every executive committee to achieve that across such a big depart- reviews in favour of light-touch regular member – and soon every member of the ment. I don’t doubt there’s a will to do it, I check-ins, with a focus on development senior civil service – sponsoring a Black, doubt whether there is the ability to do it.” and wellbeing. The process has also been Asian and Minority Ethnic staff member. Chai Patel, legal policy director at the simplified, with the goal of providing a However, changing the culture of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immi- continuous cycle of performance and de- Home Office is something that Rycroft grants, tells CSW that while he agrees velopment conversations, and greater con- acknowledges will not be a quick fix. In a many civil servants are “sincerely trying sistency and fairness for all staff through letter to Public Accounts Committee chair to improve things in line with some of increased monitoring and accountability Meg Hillier in March, he said “transforma- the recommendations that were made”, – with director generals having additional tional change is needed if the Home Office the department has not improved. responsibility around diverse outcomes. is to deliver better for the public”, adding “The key problems weren’t internal “To Matthew and Tyson’s credit, they that it should become “more open and cus- diversity within the Home Office or neces- took the bull by the horns on this one tomer-focused, more efficient and automat- sarily whether the staff had had enough and got it delivered,” Motraghi says. ed, more forward looking and innovative”. sensitivity training. The problems were in The Race Action Programme has He acknowledged that “this transforma- policy and in the political culture and in also changed the makeup of recruit- tion journey will take time to implement the directions given by ministers,” he says. ment boards. To increase diversity, 800 fully and to embed”, a concern shared “You have the home secretary and volunteers, all of whom are from a Black, by other observers of the department. ministers calling for harsher measures Asian or Minority Ethnic background Former independent chief inspector of and saying extremely hostile things to the or have a disability, have been recruited borders and immigration David Bolt (in- charities and employers who raised the to sit on the panels. Motraghi says work terviewed elsewhere in this month’s CSW) Windrush problems in the first place.” is focused “mainly at senior executive highlights some of the barriers to change. The policy landscape coming from officer and above, because that’s where ”There isn’t one culture in the ministers around their new plan for im- our under representation is the most Home Office,” he says. “It’s lots of migration is increasingly hostile and acute”. The department is doing “sig- micro cultures, because it’s spread advocating regressive policies, Patel nificant work” around feedback and out over so many locations. says. “So it is difficult to talk about re- reserve lists, and ensuring jobs have “I know Matthew Rycroft and ministers form when all the reforms are to stuff more diverse shortlists to begin with. are talking about how they’re intending to that wasn’t the root cause of the problem, Staff sponsorship is another area of change the culture, but it’s a real challenge while there’s regression in all the poli-

20 | June 2021 | civilserviceworld.com

18-21 CSW307 Home Office windrush.indd 20 09/06/2021 12:06:44 HOME OFFICE REFORM ❮ FEATURE

cies and politics that were,” he adds. Rycroft acknowledges that no element of the Home Office’s current package of changes will be a “single bullet” and says it will “take time” to improve outcomes for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff. “I want to be honest with people that this is this is not an overnight is- sue, this is going to take a long pe- riod of sustained work – very unhe- roic and behind the scenes – but we are determined to do that,” he says. Motraghi agrees progress is “go- ing to be the aggregation of marginal gains”. “It’s not going to be one big bang. It will take us time,” he says. But he hopes to reach that 2025 target for SCS representation. “I’m sure we can get there, because we are seeing improve- ments in terms of representation already. “It is at the top end of the scale that we do need to do some more work and I think them that they shouldn’t be worrying. munities and Local Government and the the focus on it will make a real difference.” In terms of what it means more broadly, Department for Environment, Food and I think we are waiting for the prime Rural Affairs – to put in place a shared he department has accepted all of minister and Cabinet Office on that.” career development pipeline for Black, Wendy Williams’s recommenda- Motraghi adds that the report has “got Asian and Minority Ethnic women. tions, which means it has now people to stop and think more about race”, The Home Office’s high profile means Tformed the strategic race board chaired but says implementing the Windrush it will no doubt remain in the spotlight by Rycroft. In Rycroft’s words, the board recommendations is “what we’re focused for its actions. But Rycroft stresses that will “hold people to account and ensure on delivering and making a difference for he wants his to be the department that we crack on with delivering our plans”, as our staff”. And some of the recommenda- others learn from. “Some of our Windrush well as revising the department’s overall tions, such as disaggregating statistics response, for instance, includes trying diversity and inclusion strategy. about Black, Asian to get a message across the whole of the These efforts all come at a time and Minority Ethnic civil service about how to do policymak- when government action to tackle groups to better under- ing in a more open and more inclusive racial disparities more broadly stand the challenges way that is more in touch with the com- is in the spotlight. The Commis- faced by each, have munities that we serve,” he says. “We sion on Race and Ethnic Dis- already happened are trying to break down the barriers parities report produced for the in the department. between the Home Office and the rest of government was viewed by many Alongside his the civil service and actually go out there equality advocates as a back- work in the depart- with constructive suggestions on some wards step because it concluded ment, Rycroft is issues which we’ve got experience of.” that geography, family influence, This has included conversations socio-economic background, between Rycroft and his fellow per- culture and religion have a more “It’s not going to be one manent secretaries in what he calls significant impact on life chances big bang. It will take us “Wednesday morning colleagues than the existence of racism. format”, referring to the weekly meet- Asked if the report – and the time” Hamid Motraghi ing between departmental chiefs. pre-briefing of the most conten- These have been “updating them on tious elements, which led to high-profile also the civil service race’s champion, our Windrush response, and then specifi- media coverage – harmed the kind of having been confirmed in the role af- cally asking them to engage on some of work that the Home Office is seeking to ter an initial six-month appointment. these particular issues,” Rycroft says. “And address, Rycroft stresses that the govern- He says his priorities are looking at re- there’s a whole strand of work, to follow ment has not yet responded to the report. cruitment, promotion and progression, and up one of Wendy’s recommendations, “We should reflect on it and see it lived experiences of people from minority that is about spreading good practice as a contribution to the debate rather backgrounds in the civil service – and that around the policymaking community.” than as the last word,” he says. he has begun to find initiatives that can be Like many parts of this agenda, it is “It’s definitely not going to detract applied to the Home Office’s own efforts. now about tracking progress. But, says us from our implementation of all of the Other areas of collaboration Mo- Rycroft, “when you put them all together, Windrush recommendations. I think traghi highlights include work the you know, this is a really strong and there probably have been some staff in Home Office has done with the depart- sustained attempt to shift the dial”. the Home Office who have been worried ments that share its Marsham Street Both he and Motraghi know the country about that. And I have sought to reassure HQ – the Ministry of Housing, Com- will be watching to judge their progress.

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18-21 CSW307 Home Office windrush.indd 21 09/06/2021 12:06:48 22-25 CSW307 bolt.indd 22 BOLT OFINSIGHT 22 |June 2021| the department’s culture the challenge ofchanging Windrush reforms, and Napier Barracks, post- Smith about inspecting work. He tells Beckie light onthe Home O ce’s spent sixyears shedding immigration, inspector ofborders and As independent chief INTERVIEW ❯ DAVID BOLT David Bolt I of the time and across all ofthe business justisn’t there,” he says. the system todoeverything well, toan appropriate standard, all immigration system is under constant strain,and “the capacity of inappropriate quarters.Even outside apandemic the whole ofthe Bolt well understands how asylum seekers came tobeheld insuch keeping large numbers ofpeopleincramped conditions. pandemic made iteven more so, he adds, because itmeant chief inspector ofborders and immigrationinMarch. But the able exercise,” says Bolt,who steppeddown as independent in camps in their home country. So itwas always aquestion- fered trauma, orpossibly beeninvolved inbeing interned or asylum seekers –particularly ifthere are those who have suf- of barracks accommodation was suitable inany event for for the eruptionof178 cases inasingle month atNapier. the home secretary’s insistence that “mingling” was toblame virus outbreak “almost inevitable”, Boltsaid –contradicting accommodation”.long-term Those conditions made acorona- inspection as “impoverished, rundown and unsuitable for during the pandemic –conditions he described following an of the conditions inNapier Barracks and Penally Barracks repurposed army accommodation during the Covid-19 lockdown. to sleep indormitories ofmore than 20peoplewhile being held in year, for example, itemerged that asylum seekers had beenforced harmed by Home O ce decisions continue tounfold. Earlierthis the face behind the case” is meaningful, as storiesofpeoplebeing the extent towhich the department has learned from itsmistakes. Windrush lessons learned review –launched, many have questioned Having spent sixyears inspecting the Home O ce’s work, “It was always going tobequestionable whether that type It is partly because ofDavid Boltthat the public is aware Sceptics have questioned whether the ministry’s promise to“see change” –brought about by the revelations ofthe damning ate and people-focused, witha“culture oflearning”. would see the department become more compassion- ised todeliver a“cultural shift” atthe Home O ce that t is eightmonths since home secretary PritiPatel prom- In the months since that “unprecedented programme of civilserviceworld.com 09/06/2021 12:07:20

GOV.UK Bolt’s inspection of the two bar- racks – one of his last pieces of work as ICIBI – led Home A airs Select Com- mittee chair Yvette Cooper to conclude that “at a time when the home secretary and permanent secretary have told us they are making major changes to improve the culture and the humanity of the department in response to the Wendy Williams Windrush review... they haven’t yet learnt the lessons”. Campaigners and human-rights charities meanwhile described the decision to use the former army accom- mmodation to house asylum seek- ers as “inhumane” and “heartless”. But Bolt says he doesn’t believe Home O ce civil servants lack com- passion. “I’ve met lots of sta at all levels across the department and I don’t think that is fair to say about the majority, or even many of them. I’m sure there are some people who are ‘case hardened’ to the point where they are maybe less caring and thought- ful than they ought to be about deal- ing with individual cases – but in general, I don’t think that is an issue,” he says. As well as inspecting the Home O ce’s work, the immigra- But he says those leading the department sometimes tion inspector makes recommendations on how to improve fail to recognise the “transactional” nature of its work. – and this is one occasion when the department took Bolt’s Many sta deal primarily with application forms, and op- advice, which was to put the asylum operations directorate portunities to speak to people face to face are “limited”. in charge of handling family reunifi cation casework. “That “And some of those opportunities are confrontational – like was a step forward. But there were lots of other [recommenda- in immigration enforcement,” Bolt adds. “Border Force [is one tions I made] to do with refugee camps that they rejected.” example]: although they don’t set out to become confrontational, Asked about his proudest moments as ICIBI, Bolt says he nonetheless they’re in an unequal power relationship with the “did take some satisfaction” in changing the family reunifi cation people who are arriving at the frontier. process. But he says every win was tinged with “So the Home O ce’s interactions with disappointment. “With family reunion, depart- people are not the same as they would be ment ministers decided that they didn’t want in, say, the Department of Health and Social “I think the to go down the route of extending the notion of Care. They’re not in a welfare role, they’re in Home O ce’s the family to include siblings who are over the a transactional mindset. They’ve got a set of sense of time age of 18,” he says, adding: “I tend to be a glass- rules, a set of guidance, an application or a half-empty person, as you can probably tell.” claim in front of them and they’re applying is di erent Despite those frustrations, Bolt says he the rules and the guidance to that claim. from many of didn’t see the job as a battle. “It wasn’t about “I would question whether sometimes the people that me winning and the department losing. It they do that as carefully as they should... was more about trying to make sure that the and I do think that when those judgments are engaging department actually understood certain things require compassion, or when they require with it” that it [wouldn’t otherwise].” He wanted to an understanding and empathy with the ap- create a “‘water on stone’ sense of continu- plicant, that is sometimes lacking, because ous inspection and continuous pressure on that’s not part of the norm in which these things are done.” the department to do the best it could”, he says. “We managed To illustrate his point, Bolt recalls examining family reunifi - that, I think,” he adds, noting that he introduced a reinspec- cation for refugees in 2016. Back then, applications for asylum tion process to review progress on his recommendations. were handled in overseas posts by people “who were applying Another factor that has dampened confi dence in the Home the sorts of considerations that they would to a normal visa”. O ce’s pledge to “right the wrongs of Windrush” is that the He explains: “So when the wife or the children [of a refugee process seems to be taking an awfully long time. A compensa- who had settled in the UK] were unable to provide passports tion scheme for victims took a year to launch after then-home or other documents in support of their application, they were secretary Amber Rudd acknowledged the scandal and set up being routinely turned down on the basis that, ‘Well, they can the Windrush task force. This March, nearly two years after always reapply, it’s free’. I’m not sure that you call that callous the scheme launched, just £14.3m had been paid out and some or heartless, but you would call it unimaginative and not recog- people had been waiting more than 18 months for their applica- nising the true circumstances of those people’s situations.” tions to be processed. Twenty-one people had died waiting.

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22-25 CSW307 bolt.indd 23 09/06/2021 12:07:21 22-25 CSW307 bolt.indd 24 24 |June 2021| INTERVIEW ❯ tion ofthe need tomove atpace, which Ithink is aconcern.” it feels like along time. So Ithink there’s alack ofrecogni- But for the person sitting inanimmigrationremoval centre, pretty quickincivil service terms oradministrative terms. of weeks toreconvene. “A couple ofweeks mightseem like tion about a case afteritsfirst meeting, itmighttake acouple detention should bereleased. Ifthe panel needs more informa- many ofthe peoplethat are engaging withit,” he adds. of time, the speed atwhich time moves –is dierent from fraction ofthose Boltwrote. It took months to publish some of them. reports eightweeks afteritreceives them –but only didso for atiny require policy input, where that seemed totake forever”. mendations –“particularly those that publish his reports and act onhis recom- the department was consistently slow to [in the Home O ce],” he says, noting that the very slow pace atwhich things move needs ofthe individuals who’d beenaected.” matching public expectations –nor, indeed, the necessary togetitall right,but obviously wasn’t ing very, very slowly, which itmightargue was pace and the need todoitwithcare,” he says. the rightbalance there –the need tomove at properly. “Idon’t think itmanaged toachieve cerned about ensuring the system would work being set up, the Home O ce seemed very con- mechanisms. But he observes that when itwas scheme directly, as ithas itsown assurance Take, for example, the panels deciding ifadults atrisk in “I think the Home O ce’s sense oftime –the passage The Home O ce o cially aims topublish ICIBIinspection “I think one ofmy major frustrations is “It seemed tome that withthis, itwas mov- Bolt hasn’t inspected the compensation DAVID BOLT F Home O ce had acted inthe way that ithad, and felt person- what Isaw and heard, alot ofsta were very upset that the think that alotofsta were quite bruised by Windrush... from tion issue that is clearly part ofall ofthat,” he acknowledges. ment’s image? “Well certainly, there’s animage and reputa- is meaningful –oris itmore about protecting the depart- or deportations being stopped following media attention. review –and there are many examples ofvisas being granted acknowledged itsfailings and launched the lessons-learned elderly and vulnerable Windrush victims that the department after anational outcry over reports about the treatment of that change is ofteninfluenced by public opinion.Itwas only or those following the Home O ce’s work closely, itcan feel But he says the desire for change runs deeperthan that. “I Does Boltthink the commitment tochange post-Windrush civilserviceworld.com 09/06/2021 12:07:39

GOV.UK ally hurt by it and had a determination to do something about in asylum feel like a forgotten army; they’re not necessarily a it. So I think at all levels, there is a desire to change,” he says. particularly high priority to top management,” he says, but he There is “some scepticism” about whether things will actu- concedes that may have changed since the appointment of a ally change, though. “The Home O ce has got more trans- new director general for asylum and protection in February. formation plans and programmes than you can shake a stick Does Bolt think a requirement for Home O ce sta to spend at. It’s always talking about transforming and changing.” time meeting people in detention centres, or visiting asylum ac- “And there’s a question in my mind about follow through,” commodation, would be helpful? Yes, he says – he would encour- which Bolt attributes partly to the “tremendous” rate of churn age the department to give sta “as much exposure as possible” among senior civil servants and ministers. In his six years to the groups of people they are dealing with. He says his own inspecting the Home O ce it had four home secretaries, seven experience doing just that was “illuminating and quite humbling”. immigration ministers, three permanent secretaries, three The post-Windrush “face behind the case” training will mean second permanent secretaries, and the di- more o cials meet Home O ce “customers” rector generals changed “at least twice”. – but Bolt notes that in the past, the depart- “Any programme that’s going to require “The Home ment resisted his calls to increase face-to-face a commitment over time is at risk because O ce has more contact. It turned down a recommendation whatever energies you have at the begin- to require caseworkers making decisions ning, and whatever personal commitment... as transformation about foreign national o enders who had people change and as time goes on and new plans and served their sentences to visit immigration things hit you, it’s hard to keep that momentum programmes removal centres and prisons – instead put- going. I just think that’s one of the real chal- ting other sta in place as go-betweens. lenges that the department’s got,” he says. than you can Another theme running through many of “How does it manage to do that, and keep shake a stick Bolt’s reports – and which appears to be re- the momentum for something like that when at. There’s a fl ected in the Home O ce’s attitude towards it’s got so many other challenges to deal with? the publication of the reports themselves – is And this issue I mentioned before, about capac- question in my a lack of transparency. It was only through ity, and it’s always running to stand still?” mind about his reporting that seemingly key informa- Then there is the sheer scale of the follow through” tion needed to allow scrutiny of its work, Home O ce, he adds. “There’s so many such as the makeup of the panel consulting moving parts. Even when you talk about on its right to rent scheme, became public. culture – I’ve often said, well, there isn’t one culture in the “Transparency is a real issue,” Bolt says. “I realised after Home O ce.” Border Force, immigration enforcement and a while that part of the function of my reports was to expose UK Visas and Immigration all have their own “micro cul- things, to get things into the public domain, in a way that tures”, with distinct identities and responsibilities. I hoped would mean that people had a better understand- “I know Matthew [Rycroft, permanent secretary] and min- ing of what was really going on – because the Home Of- isters are talking about how they’re intending to change the fi ce itself was so poor at explaining itself,” he says. culture, the ‘face behind the case’ training is being rolled out That was part of the thinking behind the advice Bolt passed so that people will develop more on to his successor, David Neal, about sympathy, more empathy for the how to succeed as chief inspector. “It’s applicants. That’s a hell of a chal- in the title, ‘independent’, so I tried to lenge, I think, to achieve that across be very careful not to try and steer him such a big department with so many towards a particular thing. The inde- diverse functions, such a devolved pendence comes in deciding what to workforce. A real challenge. I don’t look at, how to look at it, what’s impor- doubt there’s a will to do it, I doubt tant. So I encouraged him to do that. whether there is the ability to do it.” “But I passed on a few tricks of the CSW wonders where Bolt would trade – things to do with pushing back at start, were he in charge. “I think that the Home O ce at the factual accuracy you’d have to be careful not to try stage of the report [after submission and and eat the elephant all in one go. I before publication], where the Home Of- think you need to fi nd things where fi ce tends to go well beyond factual accu- it’s possible to make change,” he says. racy when it’s seeking to add things and Not that that’s a simple task – as he redraft it. You need to be robust there – points out, every change has a knock- otherwise, it will try spinning the report.” on e ect, and a change to one area of His fi nal piece of advice is, he casework could have an unforeseen acknowledges, “an enormous cliché”. impact on processes elsewhere. “It’s a great privilege to be able to But he would invest in career poke around under the bonnet of the management, training and per- Home O ce in the way that I did... sonal development, he says. And to have your own train set and to be he would encourage – as he tried to able to do exactly what you wanted, do as ICIBI – more top-level owner- when and how you wanted, was fantas- ship of o cials’ work. “One of the tic. And so essentially, I encouraged things you hear is that the people him to make the most of that.”

civilserviceworld.com | June 2021 | 25

22-25 CSW307 bolt.indd 25 09/06/2021 12:07:44 Edited by ❯ DIGITAL & DATA Sam Trendall

Produced in association with CSW’s sister title PublicTechnology

This year has seen the biggest changes to Whitehall’s technology ALL CHANGE leadership in a decade. Sam Trendall runs FOR DIGITAL through what’s new GOVERNMENT?

his year has seen per- digital leadership has been further aug- focuses on developing digital platforms haps the biggest shake-up mented by the respective appointments that can be used throughout government. in the Whitehall digital of Joanna Davinson and Paul Wilmott as In recent weeks, details have gradu- scene since the creation executive director and chair of the newly ally emerged about how the two agen- of the Government Digi- created Central Digital and Data Offi ce. cies will work together – and in paral- tal Service 10 years ago. The CDDO sits alongside GDS in the lel – and how the revamp will aff ect GDS has itself appointed Cabinet Offi ce, with the former assuming those working in digital government. a new chief executive, with leadership of the digital, data and technol- former Ministry of Justice ogy function across the civil service. Its Staffi ng and responsibilities digital chief Tom Read tak- broad remit is to set and implement overall In the past two months, scores of staff from ing the reins in February. Government’s strategy across departments, while GDS GDS have moved over to CDDO, as the T26 | June 2021 | | civilserviceworld.com

26-27 CSW307 PT.indd 26 09/06/2021 12:08:29 ❮ TECH CHIEFS DIGITAL & DATAEdited by ❯ DIGITAL & DATA ❯ DIGITAL & DATA Sam Tredall

Produced in association with CSW’s sister title Public Technology

newly created entity has taken on a range of Universal Credit applications prompted legacy is any hardware, software or busi- standards and controls functions that were by the coronavirus crisis – the govern- ness process which meets one or more of previously the remit of the digital agency. ment stepped in to continue funding the the following criteria: being considered an CDDO now holds responsibility for product until at least September 2021. end-of-life product; being no longer sup- managing and implementing all digital, This funding – equating to £11m a ported by the supplier; being impossible to data and technology strategy and standards year – will now continue even further, update; being considered to be above what throughout government. This includes until April 2023, while work on the is considered an acceptable risk thresh- the Service Standard – a set of 14 rules new accounts system takes place. old; and being no longer cost effective. against which services are assessed at That project, meanwhile, received The impact of such ageing systems has every stage of their development. The body £21m in the November spending round. been starkly demonstrated by the coronavi- also oversees open standards and govern- According to civil service chief oper- rus crisis, with the need to maintain legacy ment’s Technology Code of Practice. ating officer Alex Chisholm: “[This will] IT systems having added more than £50m All of which were previously the enable GDS to build a pilot system as the to HM Revenue and Customs’ costs last responsibility of GDS – as was the im- first stage of an ambitious single sign- year – representing 80% of the additional position of spending controls for depart- on and digital identity assurance system expense the department incurred as a result mental investment in digital services for the whole of government, alongside of Covid. The tax agency was the chief and technology. This too, along with all beneficiary of four departments that will other “cross-government DDaT perfor- “Data is too often stuck in receive a cumulative £600m in funding to mance and assurance”, has been moved tackle legacy tech set out in the Novem- to CDDO. Responsibility for accessibility silos within departments ber spending round. In addition to £268m work is also understood to have moved and agencies” for HMRC, the Home Office received to the new entity, as has the management Julia Lopez £232m, the Department for Education of the .gov.uk public sector domain. £64m, and the Ministry of Justice £40m. The decision to move all these func- £11m to continue to run Verify during Lopez said that this cash will allow tions has seen a large number of staff move 2021-22 to minimise the risk of disrup- departments to address “critical risks”, from GDS to CDDO. Those that have made tion to users and connected services as but added that “this is only one step” on the switch include holders of a wide range we transition on to the future system.” a much longer journey towards solving of job titles such as technology adviser, Since launching five years ago, Verify the problems posed by legacy tech. policy and engagement lead, and user has had tepid uptake across government, “Addressing legacy remains a key focus,” researchers and designers in the areas of with only about 20 services making use she added. “Our next phase of work will standards, assurance, and accessibility. It of the platform. The GOV.UK accounts build on what we have done so far, further is understood the number of employees system “is being built with the lessons of identifying legacy assets and agreeing prior- moved between the two organisations is Verify front and centre”, Chisholm said. itisation and funding while working with de- likely to be in the region of at least 100. “It is being co-designed and built in partments to develop roadmaps for address- The two entities do, at least, share an close collaboration with key departments, ing risks. Removing legacy IT also achieves office, with CDDO’s listed HQ being the and with robust oversight from the IPA value for money by removing excessive Whitechapel Building in east London, [Infrastructure and Projects Author- costs to support out-of-date technology.” which has housed GDS since 2016. ity] and a dedicated ministerial group, This phase will be led by the CDDO. jointly chaired by the chief secretary to Improving government’s use of GOV.UK and services the Treasury [Steve Barclay] and min- data will be another of the new organi- GDS’s biggest project is the ongoing work ister Julia Lopez, Cabinet Office parlia- sation’s major initial objectives. to develop GOV.UK accounts, which will mentary under-secretary,” he added. “We need to tackle the issues that are provide a government-wide login system stopping us from using data on tap,” Lopez to replace an existing patchwork of about Tech and data infrastructure said. “Data is too often stuck in silos within 100 separate means of logging in to ac- Addressing the significant challenges creat- departments and agencies – there are also cess various services across departments. ed for government by outdated IT is “a core other legislative, technical and security One of the tools being phased out reason the Central Digital and Data Office blockers which stop us from sharing data.” is GOV.UK Verify, public funding for has been established” and will be one of the She added: “Through the CDDO, we which was scheduled to cease in March organisation’s major early objectives, accord- intend to tackle this long-standing issue 2020. From that point onwards, respon- ing to Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez. head on. We will do this by establishing a sibility for supporting its ongoing op- In a speech given to the Digital Gov- common data model for government with eration and development had been due ernment Conference last month, Lopez core data standards, reference data and to be handed over to the platform’s com- described legacy IT as “the elephant in policies. This will enable easier and ethi- mercial identity-provider partners. the room” of the transformation agenda. cal sharing of data. We are also committed However, as the majority of those Before the pandemic, GDS led work to transforming the way data is collected, partners began to sever their ties with to conduct a government-wide audit of managed and used across government. the platform – and with huge demands legacy technology across departments. The We intend to create a joined-up and in- being placed on Verify by the surge in commonly used government definition of teroperable data infrastructure.”

publictechnology.net | | June 2021 | 27

26-27 CSW307 PT.indd 27 09/06/2021 12:08:29 WHITEHALL ETHICS ❮ FEATURE

FROM CIVIL SERVICE TO CIVIL

Cee MacDonald was working as an economist in the civil service when she was arrested at an Extinction Rebellion protest. She reflects on how she balanced her activism with the civil service code

n the early hours of the morn- my after-hours Open University study in ing on Monday 16 March 2020, environmental science I’d become increas- I was sitting on the pavement ingly concerned about scientists’ warnings outside parliament. I had been on the climate crisis, the "long tail" risks, there since the early evening, what could be mitigated and what was taking part in an Extinction locked in, and the risk of wide scale hu- Rebellion (XR) Interfaith vigil man suffering. During the past 18 months, in the run up to Easter. I knew I have wrestled with how to balance my what was happening to the earth. No need Westminster and Parliament professional obligations (which I took for lines to take, no need for killer stats, Square well, as they were part seriously) with my faith as a Buddhist and just understanding things as they are. of my commute into Whitehall the increasingly clear and urgent science Some months later, at another XR where I worked as a govern- of climate change and biodiversity loss. demonstration, I was arrested for sitting ment economist. It was a cold The odd thing about activism is that and meditating in the road at Parliament night and at one point I went what people see are the outward impacts: Square. I had taken a week of leave, and for a walk to stretch my legs the lawns dug up, the roads blocked, and I had told my line management I would and warm up. I found myself occasionally the headlines and interest be taking part in the environmental outside my office at 2 Marsham Street. piqued. But activism also works at an protests, anonymously and peacefully, For ten minutes, I sat on the concrete. inner level. Doing things changes you. as a part of my Buddhist practice. I had I joined the civil service straight out of And as I sat outside my department that mentioned a "non-zero risk of arrest", but university in 2007 and it suited me. I liked night, unseen by anyone, I felt something I think they were surprised when I came Ithe processes, the agendas, the flow charts, change in me. I had done a lot of work in back from leave to discover I had been the gantt charts, the charts in general. I Marsham Street, a lot of long hours on escorted to the Lewisham custody suite respected the value of making good rules, business cases, regulatory triage assess- for a breach of the Public Order Act. saw the work that went into consulting ments and some beautiful powerpoint I’m not an expert in civil service on them, fed analysis into the legisla- presentations. But sitting in the quiet, ethics, but I spent a lot of time con- tive process and evaluated the impacts under the streetlights, it felt powerful just sidering the tension between the dif- of regulatory changes. However, during to be able to be there and meditate on ferent values I held and how I could

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choices in how I undertook my activism. I separated my work and activist identities. I got rid of all my social media. I didn’t want anyone to be able to analyse the tweets I was liking or the comments I left on Facebook and feel they were undermining my work. I used a different name and email address for my activ- ism. This reduced the risk that someone would be able to connect the dots be- tween my activism and my profession. It did mean that in the months leading up to the September Rebellion, when I was thinking a lot about the risks I may incur professionally if I was arrested, I felt like I was splitting between two people. In the late nights working on urgent business cases, I was paranoid I would inadvert- ently sign off an email with the wrong name. Sometimes I’d stumble when introducing myself in a Teams meeting. When I was out with other activ- ists, I tried to look boring. I avoided the slogans, the patches, the flags. Tried to avoid holding signs, so if there were photos of me I had some plausible deni- ability. I never made speeches. None of the current ministers knew my face. I would occasionally wear a placard with a picture of the planet that said "love and grief for the earth". Are grief and love political? Some days it’s hard to tell. I knew if I was putting myself in a position where arrest was more likely, I didn’t want it to be for anything overtly "anti government". I was not going to be one of the people hosing down the Treasury in fake blood, or at least not steer a course which honoured them. with specific issues, and “As I sat yet. But I was increas- The civil service code is partly about can sometimes miss ingly open to being honesty, impartiality and objectivity. As a the bigger picture. outside my arrested for meditat- government analyst, quite a bit of my job I was confident department ing as part of my involved checking that numbers we were that my work was that night, Buddhist practice. I using were accurate, or at least defensible. impartial. I did a knew that this may But giving a clear picture involves more lot of things which unseen by be difficult for work, than ensuring that the individual sentences I disagreed with anyone, I felt and I thought care- are true. It means telling the whole truth. as a civil servant, something fully about the worst For climate change that means being including working case scenarios, includ- honest ourselves about what the current on dismantling the change in me” ing potentially being trajectories are, what that means for our disability benefit my fired. I was also worried communities, our industries, and what mother had received while about my colleagues feel- solutions are open to us. However, being a I was growing up. I understood ing a sense of betrayal about good civil servant also means understand- that was the job. I was careful not to what I’d done. Sometimes civil diso- ing what your ministers want to know in mention my environmental affiliations at bedience is about breaking the so- the scarce time they have to read briefings work, and was carefully bland about my cial rules as well as the legal ones. and submissions. And so there is a ten- activities when talking to my own team. On the GOV.UK webpage for the civil sion between sharing the "inconvenient But I also understood it was important service code, it says “‘Integrity’ is putting facts" and sending up briefings which deal I was seen as impartial. So I made some the obligations of public service above

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your own personal interests”. Is my concern for the planet a personal interest or is it public service? Is getting a civil service salary a personal interest or is it public service? I found it wasn’t straight forward. "The personal is political" is an old feminist slogan, and I think about it a lot. We have a democracy and the principle of freedom of speech. The code implicitly makes a distinction between our own lives, and our work lives. But there isn’t such a thing as a non-political personal life. The decision not to go on a Black Lives Matter march is in its own way just as much a political decision as going. science. You’ve is huge in terms of the impact on human My area of work, like “There isn't probably seen it. suffering. And this is what creates the most policy areas, had The countries urgency among climate activists. That’s both a contribution to such a thing most affected by not to say a fast transition won’t be chal- make on emissions, and as a non- climate change, lenging; it will be. It will be disruptive. would also be affected by political and least able to But I’ve seen this government first hand climate change. It wasn’t mitigate those put its energy into delivering a challeng- something we really personal life” effects, are asking ing, disruptive policy which had plenty of talked about. I managed for a global deal sceptics – but they made it happen. I know to include climate change which aims to limit the same can happen for climate change. in my objectives, but temperature rises to I don’t know if we will get an outcome there wasn’t much senior (or below 1.5 degrees. The at COP26 that does what it needs to do, ministerial) interest in it as far Paris Agreement hedged and particularly for the most vulnerable and as I could see. I was so conscious of settled for less than two degrees. least-resourced communities across how heavily the science weighed on me, The current global trajectories estimate the world. I can’t be sure that what I am and my increasing interest in activism that we could be heading for double that. doing will make a difference. But some- that I was careful – perhaps overly so – in The difference between these numbers is times change requires a little disobedi- how hard I pushed the science and what massive in terms of the associated fore- ence, even from the civil service. it would mean for our stakeholders. I felt casted number of deaths. The longer we like I was "seeing the bigger picture". But if take to act, the more carbon there is in Cee MacDonald is a former government the senior departmental interest in climate the atmosphere and the worse the effects. economist now working full time on change was fairly shallow, then it felt dif- The difference between focusing on 2050 Buddhist and interfaith climate activism ficult to work out how much to push it. (i.e. a generation away) and aiming for including XR Buddhists and a pilgrimage I’ve held back from recapping the something much more ambitious sooner to Glasgow called Camino to COP

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Issue 254 | March 2016 | www.civilserviceworld.com Issue 258 | July 2016 | www.civilserviceworld.com Columnists Peter riddell, Jane Dudman and Dave OLD AGE Penman give their take TENSIONS JANE DUDMAN ON LESSONS FROM MYCSP economist’s LOOSENING outlook An interview with THE GRIP Vicky Pryce WHAT DOES THE PATCHWORK OF DEVOLUTION DEALS MEAN FOR WHITEHALL?

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Issue 263 | January 2017 | www.civilserviceworld.com Issue 274 | January 2018 | www.civilserviceworld.com MISS AN DEFENCE OF THE REALM AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ALL CHANGE WITH THE MOD Where do top officials PERMANENT go when they leave AN EXCLUSIVE SECRETARY government? INTERVIEW WITH ISSUE STEPHEN LOVEGROVE GENTLY DOES IT SURGE AND British Council chief RESCUE Ciarán Devane on soft We meet the team MEG crossing boundaries power and hard data to serve in a crisis BREXIT STAGE LEFT Sue Cameron on the REASONS TO Ivan Rogers row BE CHEERFUL HILLIER Andrew Greenway CHAIR OF THE ALL WELL? PUBLIC ACCOUNTS O cials are taking fewer is thankful that sick days – but managers COMMITTEE shouldn’t be complacent 2017 is over

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