In a year when the Covid pandemic has rocked the machinery of government and tested the civil service’s ability to deliver for the nation, we should welcome the appointment of Simon Case as the new Cabinet Secretary.
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The recent A-Levels fiasco, in which thousands of school leavers were denied a place at their chosen university, was blamed on a “mutant algorithm” by the Prime Minister — a freak of nature accidentally released to roam the country’s classrooms, threatening to ruin everyone’s exams results until stopped in its tracks.
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Thousands of young people have realised that the phrase “computer says no” isn’t just a Little Britain joke; it’s real life in modern-day UK as a computer programme has taken over the role of exams and teachers, and determined their A-level (and likely their GCSE) results — with disastrous consequences for many. Their protests against government-by-algorithm has lead to a very human U-turn but it highlights the need for government to become much savvier about the use of modern technology in public services.
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The academics Drechsler and Kattel recently observed, “If Winston Churchill came walking down Whitehall to his old office, he would not need much updating on how the system worked”. For some of us who have long argued the need for reform, that is a painful observation, so why should we expect things to change now? There are two good reasons.
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The coronavirus crisis has renewed the need for a radical overhaul of the way Whitehall operates, according to a new commission consisting of business leaders, MPs and former government officials.
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Whitehall reform used to be a minority preoccupation. Almost no-one bothered about it. Average politicians didn’t realise there was a problem. Better ministers thought nothing was wrong that couldn’t be righted through their brilliance. The civil service reassured itself that it was world class. All was well on the ship of state. Covid changed all that.
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A powerful group of business leaders and former senior public officials today calls for a fundamental overhaul of the machinery of government to improve delivery and protect public services in the wake of the Covid epidemic. The Commission for Smart Government warns that “every organisation in the country is urgently considering how to adapt and survive in the new world which the virus is shaping, and government can’t be exempt.”
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Commissioners Nick Herbert and Daniel Korski appeared on BBC Radio 4’s The Political School to discuss how we can change the UK’s political system for the better.
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Outgoing Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill delivered a public lecture at The University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government to reflect on his time in government and identify challenges for the future.
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Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, gave the Ditchley Annual Lecture on “The privilege of public service”, in which he mentioned the Commission for Smart Government when speaking about transformative ideas for governance.
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Whitehall mustn’t return to business as usual after coronavirus. We need radical, energetic, can-do fusion government.
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Lord Bichard contributed to the House of Lords Queen’s Speech debate on the NHS on 9 January 2020. In his speech he spoke of the need to address civil service capability in order to restore trust in the delivery of public services.
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