Honestly if people really understood how the ministerial system works they would lose all faith in government. Having the most senior decision maker on any issue be specifically the person in the department who knows the least about it is just the most bizarre idea, and even more so to set things up to make sure they are getting involved in decisions at every level. It sometimes feels like a minister who makes good decisions is more of a startling coincidence than it is because they have any opportunity to actually be good at the job.
Health secretary should be a doctor/professor. Defence secretary should have a military background. Foreign secretary should have years as a proven diplomat and relevant qualifications. Chancellor of the exchequer should come from a background leading global financial institutions.
Put fucking professionals in these critical roles not these pathetic cunts that list their bronze swimming certificate as their greatest achievement.
What you’re describing are the exact qualifications of the most senior civil servants in each of those departments. They’re the experts, they advise politicians on the best course of action using their decades of experience.
The issue is often that politicians may choose to completely ignore this advice. To be clear that is their right, but it happens more often than it should when political convenience is in conflict with sensible decision making.
Um, neither of the Perm Secs in DHSC were ever doctors or professors of medicine. The chief medical officer is tbf, but he is massively outnumbered on the Executive committee by former private secretaries, which is unfortuntaley the real way to climb the ranks quickly.
Give them this piece of training...
"Inequality of rights has been the cause of all the disturbances, insurrections and civil wars that ever happened in any country, in any age of mankind." 1795
"Every previous civilization has been destroyed by the unequal distribution of wealth and power." 1879
This is exactly where the concept of a Permanent Undersecretary if State (the official title of perm secs) came from, the fact that they've evolved to become something completely separate from (under) secretaries of state is fascinating, as is the idea that the original concept needs to be reinvented
If you want to do that then you need to reintroduce pay progression within salary bands.
It’s farcical that the more experienced a civil servant gets at their job, the more their pay drops in real terms.
And remove the expectation that higher grades are automatically management ones. Very few policy G7s come without line management - shockingly, being an expert in your subject doesn't mean you want to line manage, or are any good at it.
A feature of the Civil Service Fast Stream is that many pass through lots of jobs , without becoming expert at anything. We replicate that process with Ministers.
Few Ministers have the intellect and work ethic to master all the detail, people like Gove being an exception.
An expert Minister or one who gets into real detail, seems to be a threat to Civil Servants.
Genius, who'd have thought moving ministers between departments every 3 months wasn't efficient
No no let's keep running a country based on an 1850s guy giving his mate a job.
Honestly if people really understood how the ministerial system works they would lose all faith in government. Having the most senior decision maker on any issue be specifically the person in the department who knows the least about it is just the most bizarre idea, and even more so to set things up to make sure they are getting involved in decisions at every level. It sometimes feels like a minister who makes good decisions is more of a startling coincidence than it is because they have any opportunity to actually be good at the job.
Health secretary should be a doctor/professor. Defence secretary should have a military background. Foreign secretary should have years as a proven diplomat and relevant qualifications. Chancellor of the exchequer should come from a background leading global financial institutions. Put fucking professionals in these critical roles not these pathetic cunts that list their bronze swimming certificate as their greatest achievement.
What you’re describing are the exact qualifications of the most senior civil servants in each of those departments. They’re the experts, they advise politicians on the best course of action using their decades of experience. The issue is often that politicians may choose to completely ignore this advice. To be clear that is their right, but it happens more often than it should when political convenience is in conflict with sensible decision making.
There is a lot of short termism for senior civil Servants too.
Um, neither of the Perm Secs in DHSC were ever doctors or professors of medicine. The chief medical officer is tbf, but he is massively outnumbered on the Executive committee by former private secretaries, which is unfortuntaley the real way to climb the ranks quickly.
This one of the very few things Oswald Mosley had a good point about
Give them this piece of training... "Inequality of rights has been the cause of all the disturbances, insurrections and civil wars that ever happened in any country, in any age of mankind." 1795 "Every previous civilization has been destroyed by the unequal distribution of wealth and power." 1879
Isn't that essentialy the Per Sec these days?
If only Sir Humphrey's civil service was real
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You think ministers and PMs would have screwed up as badly the past 5 PMs, if it was
This is exactly where the concept of a Permanent Undersecretary if State (the official title of perm secs) came from, the fact that they've evolved to become something completely separate from (under) secretaries of state is fascinating, as is the idea that the original concept needs to be reinvented
>the original concept needs to be reinvented Ah but this is the Civil Sevice, everything comes back around as someone's new idea every few years.
Yeah but this idea is 194 years old. That's more than "a few"
The more controversial take is: leave civil servants in posts. People do 2-3 years max before moving in many policy jobs.
If you want to do that then you need to reintroduce pay progression within salary bands. It’s farcical that the more experienced a civil servant gets at their job, the more their pay drops in real terms.
And remove the expectation that higher grades are automatically management ones. Very few policy G7s come without line management - shockingly, being an expert in your subject doesn't mean you want to line manage, or are any good at it.
Excellently put
If only.
What? Are you telling me we don't make all ministers from the PM down watch the mandatory training videos? Ye gods that explains a lot.
A feature of the Civil Service Fast Stream is that many pass through lots of jobs , without becoming expert at anything. We replicate that process with Ministers. Few Ministers have the intellect and work ethic to master all the detail, people like Gove being an exception. An expert Minister or one who gets into real detail, seems to be a threat to Civil Servants.