New guidance for civil servants in wake of Budd Report
Civil servants in the Home Office have been given a new set of rules on how to handle cases in which ministers have expressed a personal interest.
The new rules were announced swiftly after the publication of the Budd Report into the conduct of David Blunkett. It found that there were links between his office and the immigration authorities in the case of the visa for his former lover’s nanny, Leoncia Casalme.
But, Sir Alan Budd concluded that there was no evidence that Mr Blunkett had personally interfered in the visa application.
In a written ministerial statement, the new Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, highlighted Sir Alan Budd’s conclusion that there had been no cover-up, saying: “I particularly welcome his statement that he received full co-operation from Mr Blunkett and Home Office officials and that he does not believe that there was any attempt to destroy, conceal or withhold documents or information that was relevant to the inquiry.”
He added: “What went wrong here is that a case in which a Minister turned out to have a personal interest was dealt with, without that interest being clearly recorded. I have therefore asked the Permanent Secretary to ensure there are clear and formal rules for handling and recording all cases which are drawn to Ministers’ attention.”
But, Mr Clarke said he now believed that the matter, in relation to Mr Blunkett, “should now be closed”.
John Gieve, the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, said that: “There is nothing in the report which suggests that officials have acted improperly or which calls for disciplinary action.”
He accepted though that some lessons needed to be learnt regarding individual cases brought to the attention of ministers and announced new guidelines for the Home Office. Consultations are ongoing with the Cabinet Secretary – who heads the civil service- about whether the new rules should go service wide.
In a letter to Home Office staff, Mr Grieve said that any cases raised by a Minister in a constituency capacity should be raised from his constituency office and not handled by the same person who raised the case.
And whilst it is “perfectly proper” for Ministers to look into cases which have been drawn to their attention, they should be dealt with by the relevant minister (ie the immigration minister) and a clear record of when and where the case was raised and what action was taken should be kept by the private office.
Any personal interest in the case, for example if it concerns friends or family, should be put in writing.
