FDA calls for Cabinet government over 'sofa government'

New Cabinet Secretary must 'restore morale' in civil service Tomorrow FDA general secretary Jonathan Baume will open the union's annual delegate conference by calling for Government to get off the sofa and back into the Cabinet room. Welcoming Labour's third term and its promised investment in public services, Baume will say the Government must learn from its mistakes and take a more consultative approach. "All too often the views and processes of Parliament appear to have been treated with disdain. Does the Government really believe that coherent policy-making and effective Cabinet government, led by the civil service in support of ministers, is somehow out of date or redundant? Not quite 24/7? The FDA believes that it has been the unwillingness to embrace those civil service skills that has helped to weaken the Government's effectiveness and the Government as a consequence has paid an electoral price. "With a reduced majority the Government will need to genuinely listen and consult much more about its more controversial policies, striving for consensus. This is an opportunity for the civil service to demonstrate its traditional skills and strengths. We also hope to see a reassertion of the role of Parliament and its own structures, including Select Committees. "Effective Cabinet government is good government. More coherent debate, and a more focused opposition, may irritate ministers but they can add real value to policy making, as well as helping to win back greater public support for our political system. Lord Butler's report offered a damming critique of the way in which the structures of Cabinet government had been neglected in recent years. I hope we will see a final end to 'sofa government'." Baume believes that reforming public sector pensions are a case in point where dialogue and consultation will be needed to ensure good policy. Speaking at the annual meeting of more than 200 delegates from across the top ranks of the civil and public services, just weeks before the name of the new Cabinet Secretary is to be announced, Baume said that he or she will have the critical task of providing visible leadership and restoring confidence and morale across the organisation. "The past few years have been particularly demoralizing for the civil service. Government has done little to stem media portrayals of civil servants as tax burdens and waste. Meanwhile, the pace of change has been unrelenting. Many of those changes were positive, but often they felt as if they were being done to people, not with people. We hope that the new Cabinet Secretary will address these issues and ensure that our members can hold their heads up and say with dignity that they are proud to be civil