Three things I learned about fixing Whitehall

This article is written by Ella Dorfman, Senior Service Designer at the Home Office.

This week I read ‘Fixing Whitehall's broken policy machine’ by former Senior Civil Servant Jonathan Slater. The paper argues that mainstream policymaking in central government is not fit-for-purpose and to fix it, civil servants need to get closer to reality, encourage passion and strengthen mechanisms for accountability.

Here are the three things I learned:

1. Operational and cultural disconnects have been leading to policy failure for over half a century

Whitehall’s inability to connect with its operational delivery, and with the public it serves, leads to policy failure. This is the central argument of the paper and what’s interesting is, it turns out this is nothing new. The 1968 Fulton Report for Harold Wilson shows that for more than half a century, we’ve known that Whitehall needs to change:

“There is not enough contact between the Service and the rest of the community. There is not enough awareness of how the world outside Whitehall works, how government policies will affect it.” Harold Wilson 1968.

Despite evidence of some improvement since then (in particular, the Cabinet Office Policy Lab), overall the message is clear: there is still a disconnect between the act of policymaking, and how that policy is able to realise outcomes in the world.

Removing disconnect is all about helping people to understand each other better, and there’s no quick fix to this challenge. Given the amount of time the problem has been around, it doesn’t seem like it’s going away anytime soon. It’s the responsibility of all civil servants, and all ministers, to continuously strive for a better connection, and keep finding new ways to close the gap between policymaking and delivery.

2. It’s ok to be passionate about being a civil servant

In my experience “being passionate” in a workplace can often be used as a backhanded insult. If someone says “I can see you're really passionate about …” the sentence is invariably finished with a “but…”.

As a civil servant especially, it can feel like you should check your personality at the door when you start work each day. However, if you do that, it can be hard to find motivation and inspire others to go the extra mile.

Instead we should advocate for passion within the Civil Service. Making space for passion - as opposed to the more dominant ‘studied neutrality’ and ‘emotional detachment’ - can lead to a more diverse workforce that is better equipped to deliver successful policy outcomes.

As long as political impartiality is upheld, passion is a positive trait in a bureaucrat. Having opinions and ideas is a good thing and should be encouraged.

3. Accountability isn’t about finding someone to blame, it’s about helping stop things from going wrong in the first place

The advice the Civil Service gives to ministers should be made more publicly available. This isn’t about finding someone to blame when things go wrong, instead it’s about making it less likely for them to go wrong in the first place.

A model that is more akin to what we have in local government, where evidence and options are made accessible to the public ahead of a final decision would mean more pressure on civil servants to present thorough analysis. It would also provide a greater incentive for ministers to take decisions in line with manifesto promises. Enhanced accountability should make policymaking more transparent to the public, as well as making it easier for civil servants to speak up when they sense a minister's plan isn’t going to work.

Greater accountability isn’t about finding more avenues to point the finger and blame one another. Future models of accountability should be built on how to build trust. Trust between government and the public, between politicians and the public, and between ministers and civil servants.

I highly recommend reading ‘Fixing Whitehall's broken policy machine’. It’s Slater's real-world examples from his impressive career in leading public services that make it such a compelling read. It’s a call to action for any public servant that shares the vision for a more connected, diverse and equal future. Take a look and share what you think.

👋 You can create a post like this one! Share your thoughts with a community of public servants. Learn more

(Image Credit: Unsplash)