Ministers lose right to determine civil service appointments
Whitehall commissioners have drawn up a new civil service recruitment code that strips ministers of their current right to choose from a pool of candidates.
The veto system has been heavily criticised for alleged cronyism and politicisation of the civil service. Downing Street has agreed to the reform of the recruitment rules, according to ePolitix.com.
In future ministers will have to accept the recommendations of a selection panel for appointments from outside Whitehall, but will retain a choice of candidates if they decide to promote internally.
If ministers choose to reject the panel’s choice, they must gain the explicit approval of the commissioners. If the commissioners reject the appeal, the competition for the post will have to be re-run.
Ministers repeatedly refusing appointments risk further censure under the new code.
Launching the revised rules, Baroness Prashar, the first civil service commissioner, said: “If the civil service is to be properly equipped, its members must be recruited for their skills and the ability to do the job – that is on merit and merit alone.”
Welcoming the code, Andrew Turnbull, cabinet secretary, commented: “Recruiting the best people is one of the key ways in which we can ensure that the civil service is equipped to handle the demands of modern-day government”.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen Labour MPs have expressed support for unions opposing government plans to cut 40,000 jobs in the civil service.
The MPs have tabled an early day motion opposing the cuts, announced by chancellor Gordon Brown in his 2004 Budget speech as part of efficiency savings.
The group claims that the minimum wage, the new deal on jobs, tax collection and school inspections could all be affected by the cuts, which will occur mainly within the Department of Work and Pensions and the Education Department.
All government departments are expected to slash their administrative costs by at least five per cent by 2008.
General secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, Mark Serwotka, lashed out at the proposed cuts saying: “The misplaced view that the people affected by these cuts are faceless bureaucrats is simply not the case.
“They are hard-working public servants fulfilling vital tasks on both the frontline and the back line up and down the country.”
