House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee Smaller Government: What do Ministers do? Seventh Report of Session 2010–11 Volume I: report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Additional written evidence is contained in Volume II, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/pasc Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 1 March 2011 HC 530 Published on 10 March 2011 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £15.50 The Public Administration Select Committee The Public Administration Select Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the Health Service Commissioner for England, which are laid before this House, and matters in connection therewith, and to consider matters relating to the quality and standards of administration provided by civil service departments, and other matters relating to the civil service. Current membership Mr Bernard Jenkin MP (Conservative, Harwich and North Essex) (Chair) Nick de Bois MP (Conservative, Enfield North) Michael Dugher MP (Labour, Barnsley East) Charlie Elphicke MP (Conservative, Dover) Paul Flynn MP (Labour, Newport West) Robert Halfon MP (Conservative, Harlow) David Heyes MP (Labour, Ashton under Lyne) Kelvin Hopkins MP (Labour, Luton North) Greg Mulholland MP (Lib Dem, Leeds North West) Lindsay Roy MP (Labour, Glenrothes) Mr Charles Walker MP (Conservative, Broxbourne) The following member was also a member of the Committee during the inquiry. Kevin Brennan MP (Labour, Cardiff West) Powers The powers of the Committee are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 146. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at http://www.parliament.uk/pasc. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Clive Porro (Clerk), Ben Williams (Second Clerk), Alexandra Crampton (Committee Specialist), Paul Simpkin (Senior Committee Assistant) and Su Panchanathan (Committee Assistant). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Public Administration Select Committee, Committee Office, First Floor, 7 Millbank, House of Commons, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 5730; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Smaller Government: What do Ministers do? 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 Our inquiry 6 2 Ministerial Functions 7 Too much to do? 8 What should ministers do? 11 A new approach to being a Minister 14 Accountability 15 Parliamentary Scrutiny 18 Ministers in a ‘Post-Bureaucratic Age’ 20 Ministers and departmental structures 22 3 Ministerial Effectiveness 25 Training and guidance 26 4 Ministers in a Coalition 30 5 Ministerial Numbers and the Payroll Vote 33 Ministerial Numbers and Legislation 33 Payroll Vote 35 Further Reductions 36 6 Payroll Vote – Alternative Solutions 38 Using the Whips 38 Ministers outside the Commons 39 Ministers in the Lords 39 Ministers from outside Parliament 40 Parliamentary Private Secretaries 41 7 Conclusion 43 Conclusions and recommendations 44 Formal Minutes 48 Witnesses 49 List of printed written evidence 49 List of additional written evidence 49 2 Smaller Government: What do Ministers do? List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 50 Smaller Government: What do Ministers do? 3 Summary One of the Coalition Government’s main aims has been to combat the UK’s deficit by making significant reductions in the cost of government. As a result the public sector is being asked to find new, innovative ways of working to continue to deliver high quality services with fewer resources and fewer people. Government ministers, particularly junior ministers on which this Report focuses, should not be exempt from having to re-evaluate how they work and what they do. In addition doing so would be consistent with the Prime Minister’s promise to “cut the cost of politics.” We are in no doubt that ministers are busy. However, activity needs to be distinguished from achievement. Effectiveness also needs to be distinguished from efficiency. The accounts we have received give the impression that ministers are too involved in the day- to-day running of their departments; take too many relatively minor decisions; and engage in numerous activities that could be delegated to others. This draws their focus and energy away from their primary objective, providing leadership and setting the overall policy of their departments. Ministers must focus on the key strategic decisions that need to be made in their departments. Having fewer ministers, who gave priority to their core responsibilities, could help bring about this change in culture. The Government’s intention to create the “Big Society” and respond to the “post- bureaucratic age” also provides an opportunity to re-evaluate how ministers work. As the Government advances reform to devolve more power to local authorities and communities this will shift ministers’ focus away from delivering services and towards creating the framework within which these services are delivered. Following the creation of this smaller centre, that is not directly responsible for delivery, the Government should no longer require as many ministers as it currently has. Having too many ministers is bad not just for the quality of government, but also for the independence of the legislature. The Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975 (MOSA) limits the total number of ministers at 109 but this is regularly exceeded by appointing unpaid ministers. In addition, the existence of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs) who, while not ministers, are expected to support the Government in all divisions in the House, further increases the size of the payroll vote. Currently 141 Members— approximately 22% of the House of Commons—hold some position in the Government. This is deeply corrosive to the House of Commons primary role of acting as a check on the Executive, and will be made worse by the Government’s plans to reduce the number of MPs. One simple step the Government should take immediately to limit this size of the payroll vote would be to limit the number of Parliamentary Private Secretaries to one per Secretary of State. If this was done it would result in 26 fewer Members being on the payroll vote. In addition the Government should take the following steps to reduce the number of ministers. i. Treating the MOSA as setting a strict limit on the number of ministers. The Government should not employ unpaid ministers if doing so would take it over the 4 Smaller Government: What do Ministers do? MOSA limit; ii. Reduce the number of ministers in the House of Commons in line with the reduction in MPs. This should be legislated for now and take effect in 2015; and iii. Conduct a fundamental review, by midway through this Parliament, of the number of ministers required in the smaller government which the Coalition is seeking to create. Smaller Government: What do Ministers do? 5 1 Introduction 1. In a speech during the election campaign David Cameron said that “there's something else the British public wants us to do, and that is to cut the cost of politics. Everyone is having to do more for less.” Therefore, was it not time “politicians and ministers did a bit more for a bit less?” 1 2. Certainly one of the Coalition Government’s main aims has been to combat the UK’s deficit by making significant reductions in the cost of government. As a result the public sector is being asked to find new, innovative ways of working to continue to deliver high quality services with fewer resources and fewer people. Government ministers should not be exempt from having to re-evaluate how they work and what they do. This Report attempts to address this issue by examining what the purpose of ministers is, what they do, and how they could be better utilised. Our intention is to see whether it would be possible for government to function properly, or even more efficiently, with fewer ministers. 3. Since the election there have been a number of developments which have impacted on ministers and their relationship with Parliament. The Government’s proposals to reduce the number of MPs without a corresponding reduction in ministerial numbers will increase the size of the payroll vote – the number of MPs who hold a government job and are therefore required to vote with the Government or resign – strengthening the Executive at the expense of the legislature. The Government’s intention to promote the Big Society and respond to the post-bureaucratic age by devolving responsibility for swathes of public services to the local level and enhancing local accountability, raises questions about the role of a minister in a more decentralised state. There are already more ministers, including those serving in devolved assemblies, than there were before devolution.2 Finally, the existence of a coalition has implications for the way that ministers conduct their duties. The Government has already recognised some of these developments and has said that it is likely they will reduce ministerial numbers “at some point in the future”.3 4. This is not the first time the Public Administration Select Committee has examined this issue. In its inquiry Too Many Ministers?4 our Committee in the previous Parliament found that