Butler Review: Government must act to reinforce civil service integrity - 15 July 2004

The Government should heed the lessons from Lord Butler's review of intelligence on WMD to reinforce effective Cabinet government and the integrity and impartiality of the Civil Service, says the FDA, the union for senior managers and professionals in public service. The continued failure to bring forward the promised Civil Service Act or to ensure that all civil servants are aware of the provisions of the Civil Service Code is unacceptable.

Jonathan Baume, FDA General Secretary, said:
"The Government must act urgently on the lessons of Lord Butler's robust and incisive review. Lord Butler has highlighted the significant problems that have emerged from the perceived erosion of collective Cabinet government and the increased reliance on informal and non-accountable processes. These problems were already apparent from Lord Hutton's report earlier this year.

"Some in Government have argued that 24-hours news media now means that government and civil service processes that have served successive Governments for more than 100 years are outdated. This is nonsense. Ministers in any Government have immense powers at their disposal and these tried and tested processes are checks and balances which operate to the benefit of Parliament and the country as a whole. To believe that government can be run like a tabloid newspaper shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the role of both the civil service and Cabinet government in the round.

"Despite clear commitments from a number of senior Ministers, the Government is continuing to drag its feet on bringing forward a Civil Service Act. I fear that the tactic is to leave its publication so late that it has no chance of becoming legislation before the General Election, which most observers expect in late Spring 2005. Despite Lord Hutton's report, a clear recommendation from the Civil Service Commissioners, and events associated with immigration and asylum policy earlier in the year, all civil servants are still not being made aware of their rights and obligations under the existing Civil Service Code.

"Sir Andrew Turnbull, the Cabinet Secretary, must now use his office to ensure that the processes for Cabinet government are restored, the integrity of the civil service reinforced through the promised Civil Service Act, and public trust in both the Government and the civil service is maintained. It would be a tragedy if we fail to learn from the conclusions of Lord Butler's review."

Ends

Notes for Editors
1. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing the UK's 11,000 senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.

2. For further information contact: