The civil service must become “more agile, mission-focused and more productive”, Keir Starmer and cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald have said, following this weekend’s announcement of plans for major reform.
The prime minister and the civil service’s top official used an all-staff email to say the government’s “ambitious vision for national renewal” will require “a rewiring of the British state – creating a renewed civil service; more agile, mission-focused and more productive”.
Starmer is expected to unveil his plans for civil service reform on 13 March.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden revealed some of the plans over the weekend, saying that ministers want to "fundamentally reshape" the civil service.
Under the "radical" reforms, the civil service "would and can become smaller", he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg yesterday. He did not share a target figure for the overall headcount – saying this "narrows the discussion too much" – but said frontline jobs like border guards and prison officers would be prioritised.
The overhauled system will introduce performance-related pay for senior civil servants and give line managers more tools to address poor work performance, he said. Senior civil servants who do not meet the standards expected of them will be put on development plans, after which they can be dismissed, he said.
McFadden also said there will be a "mutually agreed exits" process, in which underperforming are “incentivised” to leave their jobs.
The reforms will also digitise more services and introduce a target for one in 10 civil servants to be working in a digital or data role by 2030, he said – up from around one in 20 now.
The Cabinet Office minister added that he wanted to see more civil servants working outside London "where the state can get better value for money".
In their email, Starmer and Wormald said: “We will transform your work for the better, giving you clearer links between that work and its direct impact on people’s lives, improving senior leadership and strengthening our connection to our renewed communities – enabling you to live, work and develop your career across the UK.
“You will be given better opportunities to develop your skills in priority areas like digital and leadership.
“You will be supported to do things differently, and be rewarded for delivery.”
They said every civil servant “must be enabled to re-focus on your core purpose, away from the things that hamper your day-to-day work, delivering excellent, high-performing public services that improve people's lives”.
"We know many of you feel shackled by bureaucracy, frustrated by inefficiency and unable to harness new technology. Your talent has been constrained for too long,” they added.
"We are determined to empower you – not through words, but action – to maximise the collective power of the state."
'We're a centre-left government': McFadden dodges Musk comparisons
Asked at the weekend if the government was copying Elon Musk's approach to cutting the state in the US Department of Government Efficiency, McFadden said: "Performance management is part of every big organisation, but it's an important thing for you and your viewers to remember: we're a centre-left government.
"We believe in good public provision, that's why we fought the election, saying we wanted to have more teachers in schools, more neighbourhood police officers, why we wanted to get waiting lists down.
"That will guide us in our actions, it's up front in our policies, so we will be radical about this, but it's about getting bang for our buck in terms of the outcomes for the public, it isn't an ideological approach to stripping back the state."
Civil service unions have so far been sceptical about this weekend's announcements, with FDA general secretary Dave Penman urging the government to "set out what the substance of reform looks like, not just the retreading of failed ideas and narratives" if it is "serious" about transforming public services.
He also said ministers must set "realistic priorities" if they want civil servants to focus on delivery while making cuts.
Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said: "Nobody would say the civil service is perfect, and our members are willing partners in reform, but this government must end the tradition of treating the civil service as a political punchbag."
"A serious reform agenda must start not from blunt headcount targets, but from an appraisal of the specialist skills needed in areas like science and data, and a realisation that the current pay system does not compete with the private sector for these skills," he added.