FDA concerned about Home Office leadership 'merry-go-round' - 8 May 2007

On the eve of the break up of the Home Office, the union representing senior public servants, including senior civil servants in the Home Office, expressed its concern over yet another leadership change at the department, and said stability, continuity and a review of resources are now required from any new minister taking up the helm.

Responding to Home Secretary John Reid's announcement that he would step down from the cabinet this summer, Rob O'Neill, FDA national officer, said:

"The next Home Secretary will be the fourth to hold that office in a three-year period. This leadership merry-go-round is destabilising, and the last thing the Home Office needs now is a new minister to walk in with a box of new priorities. John Reid has been successful in stemming the flow of un-resourced initiatives which had overburdened the department, and established a framework of priorities. We would hope for continuity of this approach."

The FDA is also urging Government to take the opportunity to rethink the premise that the Home Office does not require additional resources.

"The assertion that the Home Office can be split into two departments without requiring extra resources simply does not reflect the reality of experience with machinery of government changes.

"Splitting the department will do nothing to improve how the Home Office works. Clear priorities and adequate resources will. It is imperative that Government reflects on the resources it is currently allocating to the Home Office to ensure they match the scale of the challenges it faces."

Notes for Editors
1. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing 17,000 of the UK's senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, diplomats, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.
2. The FDA (formerly First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants’ union".
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