If the polls are correct, in two days’ time new ministers will be trooping, exhausted, into departments across Whitehall. Already there – or perhaps trailing behind them, just out of shot – will be their new (and equally exhausted) special advisers.
While the relationship between spads and civil servants is often caricatured, both sides know that it’s a vital partnership.
Even more than ministers, however, new spads are thrown in the deep end. By appreciating what their new colleagues are experiencing, civil servants can help to cement the partnership quickly and constructively.
New spads will be overwhelmed with the volume of work
It’s no secret that spads have a tough workload, and new spads will be expecting this. Nothing can prepare them, though, for the blitz of policy, information and constant asks for their views on every imaginable topic. Within days their inboxes will be overflowing, uncleared submissions piling up. On top of this will be what officials don’t see – requests coming straight from ministers, MPs and party officials.
"New spads will be expecting a tough workload. Nothing can prepare them, though, for the blitz of policy, information and constant asks for their views"
Add to this the spad’s natural instinct to see and control as much as possible. They’re there to protect their minister against political mishaps, and risks abound – does a parliamentary question (PQ) or Freedom of Information response reveal something embarrassing? Does a reply to an MP misspell a dead constituent’s name? The temptation is to delay things until scoured for potential dangers.
This is, of course, impossible. And new spads will get on top of it. In the early weeks, however, officials can help by holding back. Trying not to overburden them, while working with their office to flag the truly urgent, will help.
Spads are used to working as a small team
Part of spads’ value is how well they know and are trusted by their ministers. But they’ve gained this trust by working in a small team and doing everything for their principals, including tasks like diary management and travel planning. It will be difficult to adjust to civil servants taking over these functions.
My experience was that, suddenly, you are also no longer writing much for your principal – no more research notes or policy briefs. Instead the job is to shape, frame, and add comments to civil servants’ work. When I joined the Ministry of Justice, I was amazed when a bill team produced a parliamentary handling plan for me to comment on – I assumed that was my job.
Underlying this will be the challenge of spads being at greater distance from their principal. They may have "walk-in" rights to their minister’s office, but access is unlikely to be as free-flowing as before, and they’ll have less time alone with them.
This will all take getting used to. Officials shouldn’t be surprised if new spads initially try to carve out space and step into their sphere.
There is no job description
The greatest challenge for new spads is working out what exactly they’re supposed to be doing. No-one tells you what your job is. You are immediately asked to "clear" things, though no-one explains what you’re looking for, what tests you’re applying, in how much depth you need to read things, or how much discretion you have to make changes.
There is similar difficulty when asked your view or to make decisions on issues you’ve never heard of. New spads need to get used to this quickly, while struggling to answer questions around what they do or don’t want to see, or whether something needs to go to their minister.
"You are immediately asked to 'clear' things, though no-one explains what you’re looking for, what tests you’re applying, or how much discretion you have to make changes"
And how much political freedom do they have over departmental work? In most areas, the answer is – rightly – quite a lot. But what about PQ answers or FoI responses, where civil servants have separate obligations to parliament or under legislation? The line isn’t clear. While new spads work all this out, guidance and context from the civil service will help.
Spads are not experts
Spads are not there to know it all. This means that officials will need to explain structures and processes. New spads may not know how the civil service grades work, or how they can escalate a problem. They may not have heard of "write-rounds", and might be baffled to learn that they need collective agreement to do something as simple as respond to a consultation.
This also applies to policy. Spads coming from opposition will have put a lot of work into priority areas, but can’t be familiar with every corner of the department. So for officials, explaining their policy areas succinctly is key. And particularly in the early days, when new spads will struggle to retain much new information, a quick elevator pitch is far more helpful than a long briefing.
Get the relationship off to a good start
All spads settle into their roles soon enough. The new cohort, if there is a transition this week, will be no different – and they’ll be as keen as civil servants to form constructive relationships to help them deliver their ministers’ priorities.
By bearing in mind what spads will be going through in the early weeks, civil servants can help to get this process off to a good start.
Jack Worlidge is a senior researcher at the Institute for Government, working on the civil service, and a former special adviser.