Speaking at a session about evidence-based policy at last week’s Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, she said that nowadays too many civil servants are “courteous”, find out what their minister wants, and then “try to produce the evidence to help that minister”. This, she said, is “unfortunate”. The baroness called for “more people who will say ‘boo’ to their ministers on occasions”.
She later told CSW that she recalled that in the 1960s, there were “very few” permanent secretaries “but they really had a status”, and were “quite powerful within departments... I don’t think our top civil servants today have the status they used to”.
Asked by CSW whether she believes that plans to allow ministers to choose their own perm secs will lead to their status shrinking even further, she said: “Yes, I absolutely do. I think having an independent civil service is absolutely vital.”
Her views were echoed by Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert, who told CSW that there is a “very real risk that ministers will just appoint permanent secretaries who agree with them”.
“That is definitely a worry. It could cause real concerns,” he said, adding that it could lead to ministers becoming “slower to stop doing things which aren’t working”.
Both Sharp and Huppert called for more evidence to be used in the policymaking process, and for civil servants and ministers to adopt a more scientific approach.
Huppert said: “It’s a mindset; it’s also about being prepared to try things and reject them [if they don’t work]. There are some people who understand that, and others who really struggle with that concept.”
A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office agreed that evidence-based policymaking is “vital”: the government is establishing a ‘What Works’ network producing “rigorous evidence to shape decisions”. Perm secs will still be appointed under Civil Service Commission rules, she added, but “it is important that we strengthen their accountability”.