In a message for the Prime Minister, Penman argued: will say: “You say you want a brilliant civil service and you want to attract the brightest and best to join it. Well, this is not the way to go about it.
In her first public speech since taking up her role as First Civil Service Commissioner, Baroness Gisela Stuart described anonymous briefings against civil servants as “counterproductive”, arguing that we need to “respect and celebrate” the professionalism of the civil service. She also addressed the issues around public perception: “The range of difficult things you do that goes beyond Jim Hacker and The Thick Of It. I do wonder whether we shouldn’t do more to show the wide range of things civil servants do.”
You can read a copy of her speech here.
In a wide-ranging discussion with FDA members, ITV News Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana reflected on her career to date and the state of play in UK politics ahead of the next general election.
This week, the FDA attended the 2026 TUC Congress in Brighton. FDA delegates spoke to and moved motions on a range of topics, including the review of the civil service, supporting effective management, accountability and safe contracting in the NHS, and the importance of an evidence-led approach to regulation.
Yesterday, FDA staff and reps attended the 2026 Fast Stream annual Base Camp, welcoming this year’s new joiners to the scheme and sharing the benefits of FDA membership with them.
The FDA’s National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh has written to Speaker of the Assembly, Edwin Poots, asking him to remind MLAs that when officials appear before the Assembly, impartiality must not be brought into question.
