Punish civil servants for failures, urges think-tank
CIVIL servants should be put in the firing line if they fail to deliver on projects, a damning report about the state of Whitehall concludes.
An overhaul of the civil service should be a top priority for a new government to ensure it can deliver its policies effectively, a report from the Reform think- tank said.
The doctrine of ministerial responsibility should be abolished as it only shielded officials from blame. Instead, civil servants should be held personally to account for delivering policy, the report said.
It warned there was a lack of accountability across government departments and said the idea of civil service independence was a "myth".
"Whitehall is not accountable – success or failure seems to have little or no consequence for departments. It displays inadequate performance management. It is weak at implementation," the report said.
It also called for more transparent recruitment to encourage people from other sectors.
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Monday 28 May 2012
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