What’s Gone Wrong with Whitehall?

Discussion paper

This paper contains the Commission’s starting assessment of whether the UK’s system of government is world class on four tests. Does it:

1. Have a clear strategic direction?

2. Bring about change?

3. Use technology and data well?

4. Attract and effectively deploy great people?

These tests are connected. Government cannot plan and do well without making good use of technology and data, and without a skilled, well-managed workforce. But it needs to set and deliver a strategy for building those vital capacities.

External observers – Moody’s and the World Bank – are increasingly critical. The current Government knows we need radical reform and has set out some elements.

Our view is blunt. Britain’s reputation for strong government which delivers for citizens is under threat. Running policy sores like social care have remained unfixed through successive administrations. There is no sign of a strategy for big strategic challenges – climate, social and economic inequality, our way in the world after Brexit. A death rate from coronavirus ten times that of Germany and twenty times that of East Asian countries shows the system is not resilient. It has been weak at bringing about improvement: reform plans come and go but are not ambitious enough or are allowed to fizzle out.

Comparing the current system to our four tests:

Weaknesses in the system and structures of government seriously undermine strategic coherence. The centre of government is underpowered and dysfunctional, with inadequate support for the office of Prime Minister and confused roles and accountability. There are big institutional barriers to departments working together. Systems for planning resources and activity are weak.
Government struggles to bring about change. There is systemic failure to design workable approaches, notably on complex social and economic challenges which cannot be tackled by top-down centralism. Accountability is weak and confused. There is no clear approach to working with local government, other public bodies and private and NGO public service providers.
There are good ambitions on data and technology, but they require more impetus, ambition and investment. Technology must provide better services to meet citizens' needs and transform the efficiency of internal processes. Government must not lose the confidence of citizens that their data is handled well and must practice openness.
Outdated practices for managing people and skills require urgent reform. The staffing and leadership of the Civil Service lacks the mix of skills and backgrounds needed for a modern government which is effective and responsive to the society for which it works. There are major structural barriers to reform and improvement. Political talent requires conscious development and support too.

We would welcome evidence and feedback on the analysis in this paper. Over the coming months, we will refine it. We will also develop proposals, including for a properly structured and resourced centre of government; for financial and performance planning, to fix broken accountability and for government to be able to bring about change other than by ineffective diktat and micro-management; to address the key inhibitors to world class use of technology and data; and to enable the people in government to thrive and be successful.