Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
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Wednesday Volume 569 30 October 2013 No. 66 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday 30 October 2013 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2013 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 901 30 OCTOBER 2013 902 House of Commons Senior Civil Service Staff (Reductions) 2. Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab): What Wednesday 30 October 2013 assessment he has made of the effect on the functioning of government of reductions in the number of senior civil service staff; and if he will make The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock a statement. [900779] The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster PRAYERS General (Mr Francis Maude): Since April 2010, the number of senior civil servants has reduced by 16% and the senior civil service pay bill has reduced by 20%. Last [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] year, civil servants helped to deliver more than £10 billion in efficiency savings by changing the way in which Whitehall and central Government operate. We are determined to drive even greater value for the taxpayer Oral Answers to Questions while continuing to provide exceptional public services. Kelvin Hopkins: Is not the truth that Government cuts have seen many senior civil servants take early CABINET OFFICE retirement, with an enormous loss of expertise and capacity, with increasing staff churn and work overloads, The Minister for the Cabinet Office was asked— leading to problems like the west coast main line franchise chaos, delays in replying to Members’ correspondence Disaster Planning and much else besides? 1. John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab): What assessment he Mr Maude: I wish to take this opportunity to praise has made of current arrangements for disaster civil servants for the work that they have done. With a planning in the UK; and if he will make a statement. civil service that is significantly smaller than that which [900778] we inherited in May 2010, productivity has improved markedly. The civil service is delivering at least as much The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster as it was before, with fewer people. Engagement scores General (Mr Francis Maude): The primary responsibility have stayed high, and I want to praise them rather than for emergency planning sits with local responders. The run down what they do. Cabinet Office works with other Departments, devolved Administrations and emergency responders to enhance Mr Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con): the country’s ability to prepare for, respond to and I join my right hon. Friend in commending the senior recover from emergencies. civil service for operating in the way it does. Does he agree that its capability is not enhanced by the degree of The whole House will want to thank the emergency churn in the top jobs in the civil service, and what will services, local authorities and the Met Office, who did a the Government do to address that? brilliant job working together to prepare effectively for and respond to the effects of Monday’s storm. Mr Maude: There has been concern over a long period about senior civil servants—and not just senior John Mann: What specific mechanisms will the Minister civil servants—not staying in post long enough. We are put in place to ensure that the lessons highlighted in the seeking to address that, and I know that the leadership forthcoming Hillsborough inquest will be incorporated of the civil service takes the issue very seriously. One of in his Department’s policies and practice? the effects of moving to fixed tenure for permanent secretaries will, I suspect, be to lengthen the period they Mr Maude: When the results of that come through, stay in post rather than, as some have feared, shorten it. we will obviously look at them urgently.It was a profoundly tragic event, and many lessons will need to be learned Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP): from it. We will look at it seriously when it emerges. Have the Government yet worked out when we will reach the tipping point at which reducing further the Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con): In the Minister’s number of senior civil servants will not improve the initial response, he praised responders and local authorities. service they provide but will impinge on it? Will he also praise parish councils—those unpaid heroes in many of our communities—which provide emergency Mr Maude: As I say, there have been significant responses, and encourage those that do not presently do reductions. Productivity has improved and we believe so to create and implement emergency plans? that significantly more productivity can be gained. Current departmental plans show a continued reduction in the Mr Maude: My hon. Friend makes a really good size of the civil service through to May 2015. We are point. A lot of the response needs to be done on an finding different ways of doing things better with fewer extremely local basis. Many parish councils take this people and at lower cost. seriously, with volunteers who rise to the occasion superbly—a huge amount of which happened on Sunday Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con): Is it not absolutely and Monday in preparation for and in response to the right that the effectiveness of public services is more storm. important than the number of civil servants who are 903 Oral Answers30 OCTOBER 2013 Oral Answers 904 employed? What measures is my right hon. Friend Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab): Is the National taking to measure the productivity of civil servants so Citizen Service not heading for that same graveyard of they can no longer be a drag on our economy, but three-word prime ministerial gimmicks like back to enhance it? basics, the third way, the citizens charter, the cones hotline and the big society? Mr Maude: At is best, the civil service is not a drag on the economy; it is an important component of the Mr Hurd: Not for the first time, I could not disagree economy working successfully. The leadership of the more with the hon. Gentleman. NSC is proving its civil service identified significant deficiencies in capability, value across communities. Many Opposition Members which are now being addressed. Frankly, they had been visited the programme over the summer and Opposition left unaddressed for far too long. Urgent action is now Front Benchers have nice words to say about it. We are being taken and we need to drive it through. determined to embed it in the youth sector and for it to be part of the landscape of programmes that try to help National Citizen Service young people achieve their full potential. We are extremely proud of it. [Interruption.] 4. Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con): What assessment he has made of the work of the National Citizen Service. [900781] Mr Speaker: The hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) was gesticulating as though he was training to 7. Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con): What be an opera singer. I have no idea why, but let us hear assessment he has made of the work of the National from the hon. Gentleman. Citizen Service. [900784] Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con): The gesture was The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr Nick Hurd): one of frustration and disappointment that some The National Citizen Service is growing fast and is Opposition Members do not seem to understand how proving enormously popular with young people. The valuable the National Citizen Service is. Does my hon. research shows clearly that it helps to develop life skills Friend agree that what Gloucestershire college has been that employers value, and that for every £1 of public doing in my constituency to help people on to this money we invest, society is receiving £3 of value back. wonderful course, which it is now replicating with a mini course for the new sixth form at the Gloucester Nick de Bois: I thank the Minister for that answer. I academy, is an example of how the NCS can spread was privileged to attend a challenge network campaign into the school curriculum too? day in my constituency, where social action projects were put into effective and lasting programmes across the constituency. What steps will the Minister take to Mr Hurd: I could not agree more, in sharp contrast to roll out the National Citizen Service further and expand my response to the hon. Member for Newport West it, and will he join me in congratulating the efforts of (Paul Flynn). I look forward to visiting my hon. Friend Enfield youngsters? in Gloucester to see in practice what he is talking about. The NCS is growing fast. We are seeing schools and colleges embrace it precisely because they see the value Mr Hurd: I certainly join my hon. Friend in to their pupils of participating in a programme that congratulating Enfield youngsters and all youngsters helps young people develop the confidence, self-esteem across the country who have participated in the National and skills that will be valuable to them in life. Citizen Service on their efforts. He may be interested to know that to date the young people have contributed more than 1 million hours of their time to volunteer Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab): But and do good work in communities. They get a huge can the Minister confirm that Serco has cut the funding amount out of that process, which is why we are ambitious it makes available to charities under the National Citizen to grow it and have said that we will make at least Service? What impact does the Minister think that will 90,000 places available next year.