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Sherin Aminossehe on the MOD’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS and HER RETURN from the PRIVATE SECTOR

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Sherin Aminossehe on the MOD’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS and HER RETURN from the PRIVATE SECTOR DATA FORCE SENIOR FIGURES ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN DEFENCE Issue 306 | May 2021 | www.civilserviceworld.com CONCRETE PROGRESS Sherin Aminossehe ON THE MOD’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS AND HER RETURN FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR A PROBLEM HALVED? CIVIL SERVICE JOBSHARES WHAT SIMON IN COVID SAID GOES THE WHITEHALL POWER OF DEPARTING NHS CHIEF 01 CSW306 cover.indd 1 12/05/2021 09:26:26 CSWAd-PlanesTanksShipsPhone-v1.pdf 1 12/05/2021 19:07 Planes, Tanks, Ships, and Smartphones How defence integration can improve military capability C M Tuesday 15 June 2021 Y CM from 12:00 - 13:30. MY CY CMY K Richard Johnstone, acting editor, CSW, is hosting a virtual roundtable with senior spokespeople from across the defence sector and our partners at Appian, to explore: • How transformation can happen • Can intelligent automation deliver critical support faster and more efficiently Spaces are limited, to register your interest in attending please RSVP to: Bella Frimpong at [email protected] In partnership with: Appian - CSW Planes,boats and tanks.indd 1 13/05/2021 09:47:00 CONTENTS May 2021 Editorial Published by ON THE COVER [email protected] An exclusive photo of 020 7593 5569 Sherin Aminossehe taken by Paul Heartfield Advertising in the Cabinet Office [email protected] www.civilserviceworld.com 020 7593 5606 RED BOX 4 INBOX Simon Case at PACAC and your letters 6 NEWS Latest on government comms reforms OPINION 8 ALEX THOMAS Ideas to up skill Whitehall 10 DAVE PENMAN Do inquiries into the PM’s conduct matter to the voting public? 11 DOMINIC ABRAMS Covid shows government must do more to engage local communities 12 COLIN TALBOT & CAROLE TALBOT Are we due a levelling-up overhaul? 13 MICHAEL BICHARD Government could make much better use of non-execs 14 ANDY COWPER Life after NHS boss Simon Stevens DIGITAL AND DATA 16 PART AND PARCEL Departments have signed deals worth hundreds of millions with Amazon 22 Web Services in the last six months FEATURES 18 PROJECT RUNWAY MoD infrastructure director Sherin Aminossehe on concrete and complexity 22 TRANSFORMERS Meet the team working to increase digital skills in defence 26 FITZ AND STARTS MoD digital engagement director John Fitzpatrick on the evolution of his career 30 DOUBLE DUTY 12 14 How job share partners are support- ing each other through the pandemic civilserviceworld.com | May 2021 | 3 03 CSW306 contents.indd 3 12/05/2021 16:03:41 ❯ RED BOX EDITOR’S COLUMN Edited by ❯ RED BOX Sarah Astion FROM THE EDITOR here are those people it reveal too much? The cab sec who – perish the thought was asked them all, and though T– don’t read this fi ne to my ear his answers seemed title, and don’t follow the ins perfectly reasonable for a civil and outs of the civil service. servant placed in a very invidi- The people who can’t name the ous position, they didn’t seem to cabinet secretary, or the BEIS please anyone. So much so that perm sec, or the head of the the new sadly-familiar briefi ng Government Legal Department. against civil servants found a So at moments when new target in the still new-ish top offi cials are thrust into cab sec, who took the job in the the who-knew-what-when the trust of the prime minister, the spotlight, a lot of people most diffi cult circumstances details of the No.10 refurb. and would not do so by airing notice them for the fi rst time. imaginable and defi nitely isn’t There may be some truth to his dirty laundry, or criticising Simon Case’s late April getting a belated honeymoon this. Case is, by his own admis- his furniture choices, in front of appearance before the Public now, even as politicians seem sion, relatively inexperienced MPs. Indeed, the close work- Administration and Constitu- to be having their popularity for the top role. He told MPs in ing relationship of the PM and tional Aff airs Committee turned boosted by every vaccine dose. a previous PACAC session (one this cab sec – he had only been out to be one such moment. What to make of it? Well, the of those that CSW was much back in the civil service as the Though these clashes are al- fi rst point is that, as former civil more lonely in covering) that perm sec of 10 Downing Street ways big news in the CSW bub- servant and sometime CSW there were gaps in his CV, most for months before the cab sec ble (used in its pre-2020 sense), contributor Martin Stanley notably that he has never led a role came up, and he had clearly they don’t always crowbar their pointed out, offi cials have to department. But he insisted he impressed the PM enough to way into the six o’clock news. comply with the Osmotherly had a track record of giving dif- go for it – is one of the things This one, though, was dif- Rules, which say “civil servants fi cult advice to prime ministers, that could repair the strained ferent. Case arrived before MPs who give evidence to select and told civil servants “they relationship between the prime just as a host of inquiries into committees do so on behalf of absolutely must keep speak- minister and the civil service. various dealings by the PM and their ministers and under their ing truth unto power fearlessly, But, as with so many of his predecessors were getting directions”. So it is the prime in line with our values”. the inquiries fl oating around under way, so he was asked minister who will have set the Without having been in the government at the moment, about them. How was the deco- parameters of Case’s evidence. rooms at No.10, it is impossible it is the prime minister, not ration of the Downing Street fl at By extension, the debate to test whether Case has met his the cab sec, who is the pri- paid for? How did Lex Greensill moved onto Case’s youth, with pledge, but over-analysing one mary decision-maker. It is at get so much access to govern- some claiming a more griz- select committee appearance is his door, whether styled by ment? Did the prime minister zled Whitehall veteran may a poor proxy for it too. The cabi- John Lewis or Lulu Lytle, that try to block a leak inquiry, lest have pushed harder to reveal net secretary needs to retain scrutiny should be placed. COMMERCIAL ENQUIRIES PRINTED BY PUBLISHED BY Dominic Risolino Magazine Printing Company [email protected] www.magprint.co.uk 020 7593 5534 DISTRIBUTED BY JYL CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tim Shepherd SUBSCRIPTIONS © Dods 2021 ACTING EDITOR www.civilserviceworld.com/subscriptions Reproduction in whole or part of any Richard Johnstone SENIOR ARTWORKERS 020 7593 5510 article is prohibited without prior written [email protected] Matt Titley [email protected] consent. Articles written by contributors 020 7593 5588 Max Dubiel UK public sector: £49 do not necessarily refl ect the views of Antonello Sticca UK private sector: £99 the organisation ACTING DEPUTY EDITOR Beckie Smith PHOTOGRAPHY Visit www.civilserviceworld.com/ POSTAL ADDRESS [email protected] Alamy, Adobe Stock, subscriptions for details Dods, 11th Floor, The Shard 020 7593 5687 Photoshot, unless stated otherwise London Bridge Street SE1 9SG ADVERTISING TELEPHONE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS EDITOR 020 7593 560 020 7593 5500 Geoff rey Lyons FAX geo [email protected] 020 7593 5501 DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS EXECUTIVE ISSN 2515-0235 (Print) Charlotte Newbury (Jessica Bowie and Suzannah Brecknell are on maternity leave) 4 | May 2021 | civilserviceworld.com 04-5 CSW306 leader and letters.indd 4 12/05/2021 16:02:05 ❮ CORRESPONDENCE RED BOXEdited by ❯ RED BOX Winnie Agbonlahor wage for the work that’s Paul Howarth commented: done,” Peter Galley agreed. “They probably couldn’t The report also prompt- source civil servants with INBOX ed this observation from these skills because they don’t [email protected] @es_ska_pade on Twitter: pay civil servants £1,115 per twitter.com/CSWNews “”I suspect by the same logic day, so these people work in that some assurance/enforce- the private sector instead.” ment officers may have the And Paul Mason added: same level of knowledge.” “Until the civil service is SECOND LOOK (skills profiles, etc). There is a given the budget to train, The news that the cabinet very specific way candidates SKILLING UP this will always be the case.” secretary, Simon Case, sent need to present themselves; Readers also agreed with Meanwhile, Martin out a memo telling sen- which can seem quite opaque the findings of a second Clements commented: ior civil servants to report to those from the private sec- IfG report that warned the “What a shocking waste any second jobs, to ensure tor,” Alexandrea Sufit said. civil service’s “ad-hoc” of public funds!” “transparency and full Mark Ryan suggested approach to training isn’t Not everyone felt proper management” of there might be another reason working, and that without a the money was being outside interests, prompted people might not apply for clear strategy it will strug- used poorly, however. some strong opinions. jobs: “So it’s not the pay then!” gle to fill skills gaps and “Behind the headline, “It is almost unbelievable tackle future challenges. ‘£1,115 per day for each of the that this needs saying. Would Alison Schofield asked: 35 people’ is a decent going any of us, as career civil serv- TRUST ISSUES “Should we be surprised, given rate for highly skilled people, ants, even think it would be ap- Readers were alarmed at the cuts made to training no?” asked @Ben_MegaUK propriate for us to have second reports that cabinet sec- and development budgets on Twitter.
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