Alex Thomas

More transparency is needed to support impartial civil service appointments
20 Aug HR
More transparency is needed to support impartial civil service appointments
Emily Middleton and Ian Corfield's appointments to the civil service raise questions about impartiality. A simple change to improve transparency would help
Sunak has lost the man who would implement Maude’s civil service reforms
15 Nov 2023 Civil Service Reform
Sunak has lost the man who would implement Maude’s civil service reforms
New Cabinet Office minister John Glen should build on his predecessor Jeremy Quin’s approach to government reform
Francis Maude’s review of Whitehall should lead to cross-party agreement on civil service reform
19 Oct 2023 Civil Service Reform
Francis Maude’s review of Whitehall should lead to cross-party agreement on civil service reform
Leaked proposals for a new settlement for ministers and civil servants are mostly to be welcomed
Francis Maude is back in the ring. Here's what he should bear in mind as he looks at civil service accountability
02 Aug 2022 Civil Service Reform
Francis Maude is back in the ring. Here's what he should bear in mind as he looks at civil service accountability
Francis Maude is once again working on civil service reform. Alex Thomas says that his too-hasty review should focus on clarifying responsibilities in government and not on eroding civil service impartiality
Confused accountability between ministers and civil servants makes government less effective. Time for a new statute
23 Mar 2022 Civil Service Reform
Confused accountability between ministers and civil servants makes government less effective. Time for a new statute
Parliament should legislate for a new statute to strengthen the civil service’s accountability, identity and purpose
Boris Johnson’s ‘Office of the Prime Minister’ won’t address Sue Gray’s criticisms
01 Feb 2022 HR
Boris Johnson’s ‘Office of the Prime Minister’ won’t address Sue Gray’s criticisms
A reorganisation of No.10 cannot solve the government’s problems, says Alex Thomas
Capability-based pay on its own will not solve the civil service’s churn problem
10 Nov 2021 HR
Capability-based pay on its own will not solve the civil service’s churn problem
Plans to link pay to capability are an important step to address government's retention and recruitment problems, says Alex Thomas, but they must be properly implemented - and funded
Opinion: Improving government communication won’t save muddled policy decisions
17 Sep 2021 Communications
Opinion: Improving government communication won’t save muddled policy decisions
While poor communications can damage public confidence and a government’s reputation, good communications cannot salvage one whose overall approach is inconsistent or dishonest, says IfG’s Alex Thomas
Alex Thomas: Skills and spills in the civil service
19 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Alex Thomas: Skills and spills in the civil service
The government is keen to boost the skills of civil servants and, even in the midst of the Greensill scandal, Whitehall needs to think about both internal training and bringing in external expertise. Here’s some ideas for reform
Old guard, new tricks? Alex Thomas on what the new civil service chief operating officer must prioritise
20 Apr 2020 Civil Service Reform
Old guard, new tricks? Alex Thomas on what the new civil service chief operating officer must prioritise

Recent appointments may have gone to experienced insiders, but the new civil service chief operating officer must build on the momentum of outsider John Manzoni and help tackle persistent problems
Opinion: Forecasting the fallout from the Patel-Rutnam row
18 Mar 2020 Government Tax Profession
Opinion: Forecasting the fallout from the Patel-Rutnam row

The Rutnam resignation has exposed underlying tensions between ministers and civil servants, says Institute for Government programme director Alex Thomas