Louise Casey: Civil servants have power and responsibility to deliver change

Government's next lead non-executive director Baroness Casey tells CSW's inaugural Collaboration Conference that civil servants should be confident and open to change
Casey speaking at the inaugural CSW Collaboration Conference. Photo: Tom Hampson

By Tevye Markson

31 Jan 2025

Civil servants have the power – and responsibility – to deliver real change, Louise Casey has said in a speech to officials from across government.

Delivering the keynote address at CSW’s Collaboration Conference this week, Baroness Casey – who will shortly become the government’s lead non-executive director and will also lead a review on social care reform – issued a rallying cry to civil servants to be confident and embrace their ability to bring about change.

Referring to the news that 74 children have died in temporary accommodation over the last five years, Casey, who is a former director general in the Home Office and Department for Communities and Local Government, said this is “a stark reminder that we shouldn’t doubt our power”.

She said civil servants, no matter their grade or role, are more powerful than a rough sleeper, or a single mum in temporary accommodation, or an elderly man who is lonely and isolated and wondering how he’s going to pay for social care, and therefore “have quite a lot of power”.  

“Perhaps I’m being controversial here – but we’ve got to be really clear that if we are paid by the public in the public sector, please don’t underestimate the responsibility that we as public servants have with that.

“You may feel that morale is low, you may feel you’ve had a kicking, I don’t know what you’re feeling, I’ve just read some of the surveys,” Casey said.

“What I do know is that you do have that power and more importantly, frankly, we have that responsibility.”

Officials, as they go into 2025, should be embracing both hope and responsibility, Casey told delegates. 

Casey has been brought in by multiple governments to lead reviews into tricky and cross-cutting problems. She first joined the civil service in 1999 from housing charity Shelter to head the then-Labour government’s Rough Sleepers Unit, and has subsequently held a number of posts in the civil service including DG of the Troubled Families Programme in DCLG. She left government in 2017 to focus on voluntary sector and academic work, but has since been brought back in on several occasions to lead reviews into issues including rough sleeping and cultures and standards of behaviour in the Metropolitan Police. 

Her latest roles will see her lead an independent commission on building a National Care Service to deliver long-awaited reform, and,as lead NED, oversee non-executives from across government to support the delivery of the government's Plan for Change.

Later in her Collaboration Conference speech, Casey asserted her belief that there is “an army of highly-skilled, talented and hard-working civil servants” and that the government cannot deliver change without them.

“For politicians, winning power is so important, and knowing why they want that power is equally important because you can affect change in a way which you cannot in any other walk of life,” she said.

“You can't do it in any other walk of life. And that's why the civil service is so important. Because without it, it is well nigh impossible to make sure government does government well.”

To deliver change, Casey said civil servants should have “confidence, professionalism, good analysis, evidence and be open to change”.

“Be open to doing things differently if that's what's needed – and suggest what that change needs to be,” she concluded.

The inaugural CSW Collaboration Conference took place on Tuesday 28th January. It brought together leaders from government, the wider public sector and industry to enhance cross-sector collaboration. Participants explored successful case studies, engaged in practical workshops, and developed actionable ideas for improved policy outcomes. To register your interest for the 2026 conference, click here.

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