Mandarins' fury as Whitehall appoints new chief of Scottish civil service

Published on Saturday 10 July 2010 11:44

SENIOR Scottish mandarins are said to be "livid" at the decision by Whitehall to appoint a new head of the Scottish civil service from London without an open competition.

Department heads in Edinburgh are said to have reacted with "fury" over the Cabinet Office decision to give the job of permanent secretary to the Scottish Government to Sir Peter Housden.

His predecessor, Sir John Elvidge, was only given the job after a lengthy open recruitment process.

However, UK Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell decided to forego this in appointing Housden, former permanent secretary at the communities department, to the 160,000-a-year position.That decision was then endorsed by First Minister Alex Salmond.

Insiders have pointed out that it was clear there were no potential candidates at St Andrew's House with the necessary experience to even apply for the job. "They just weren't up to it," said one.

But the decision is said to have gone down badly among civil servants who felt they stood a chance of getting the job, said a well-placed sources. One St Andrew's House source added: "There's a lot of very unhappy people, particularly among the other heads of directorate because it didn't go through the normal procedures."

Another senior figure close to the process said last night: "Seven years ago, when (former Permanent Secretary] Muir Russell stood down there was a huge brouhaha that this had to be an open competition and that it wasn't going to be Westminster putting in their own man."

"This time round, the Cabinet Office just announced it. There is quite a lot of anger in the senior ranks who think it should be more open. "

A third government insider added: "It's outrageous. There should have been an open competition. As for Alex Salmond, he has simply agreed to take somebody without testing the water either externally or internally."

There is no requirement to advertise the appointment of a new Permanent Secretary but the body which oversees the appointments process - the Civil Service Commissioners -states that departments "must comply with the principle of appointment on merit through fair and open competition."

A Cabinet office spokesman said: "It is the view of the Cabinet Secretary and First Minister that the post of Permanent Secretary Scottish Government is best served by an experienced Permanent Secretary."

Housden's appointment was brought about by the retirement of Elvidge even though he is a year older than his predecessor.

There reports earlier this year of a clash with John Denham, then communities secretary, over plans to reorganise local government.

Under the ministerial code, Elvidge asked to be "instructed" by ministers to go ahead using a procedure which absolves him of personal responsibility for decisions breaching financial propriety rules.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We are pleased we have recruited one of the most able and experienced Permanent Secretaries in Whitehall to lead the civil service."z