Leaders: Empathy does not imply any lack of impartiality

HAS Scotland’s top civil servant, Sir Peter Housden, “gone native” and ceased to be impartial at the outset of a long and highly sensitive run-up to Scotland’s independence referendum?

Or have leading UK civil servants closed ranks against an administration at St Andrew’s House obliged to work for an SNP administration with which they have little rapport or understanding?

According to reports yesterday, other permanent secretaries have agreed not to discuss Scottish independence with Sir Peter because they no longer believe they can have “free and frank discussions” with him in the room. “Unprecedented action” is said to have been agreed by the other permanent secretaries: holding smaller, ad hoc meetings to discuss Whitehall’s reaction to plans by the SNP administration in the approach to the independence referendum.

If true, these reports are worrying on two counts. First, they follow criticism of Sir Peter for appearing to compromise his neutral position to favour Alex Salmond’s referendum ambitions. Critics have also pointed to recent informal blogs by the permanent secretary recounting mundane and inconsequential matters relating to his activities outside office hours. It would clearly be problematic if Sir Peter was seen as a figure not to be trusted by those who do not agree with the First Minister’s politics.

Second, and arguably more worrying, is the effect that a polarisation within the civil service such as that now being speculated on would have on the preparations for an independence referendum.

Indeed, it is hard to see how informed and intelligent summations and decisions can be made in Whitehall without strong and robust input from St Andrew’s House.

That on a wide range of matters “we do things differently here” is not the product of subjective whim but a reflection of the government and the degree of devolution that the voters of Scotland have made clear that they wish. It is by no means clear that this wish extends to independence.

But there are differences in thinking, attitude and approach that distinguish the Scottish perspective and which do not entail an endorsement of any particular outcome in the forthcoming referendum. Whitehall would be the poorer were senior civil servants to adopt cabalistic positions – ones which, seen from a different perspective, may indicate an indifference or unwillingness to understand the nuance of difference. This, after all, is what lies at the heart of devolution.

That having been said, Sir Bob Kerslake, the UK’s most senior civil servant, has issued a timely admonition that officials should act with integrity and openness. Serving elected ministers, whether in London or Edinburgh, with these qualities is part of the “core values” of civil servants, “giving honest and direct advice and professional support to the ministers we serve, wherever we work”. Amen to that.

Madonna’s a material gain for Murrayfield

Pay freezes, tax rises and a mighty spending squeeze forcing shops to close: it hardly seems the best of times for a visit from the world- famous Material Girl. But barely has the news broken of Madonna’s first-ever concert in Edinburgh’s Murrayfield stadium, with tickets priced at up to £125 a pop, than there is talk of a sell-out and a mini boom in Scotland’s capital this summer. According to business leaders, the Madonna concert scheduled for 21 July could bring a £60 million windfall for Edinburgh’s hotels, restaurants, cafes and clubs. Did someone say austerity? Clearly not when Madonna’s in town. Her remarkable appeal across gender and age groups is set to give a notable lift to the city, even to those whose musical tastes do not run to her raucous and raunchy persona. In addition to her many Scots fans, it is believed her Murrayfield appearance will attract followers from the rest of the UK and worldwide.

Is life now so grim that a ticket offering a brief escape cannot be priced high enough? Might it be that she invokes memories of a different, more confident and materially upbeat world before the global banking crisis brought the shutters down? Whatever the reason, her popularity has endured and her appearance in Scotland will be a tonic for an Edinburgh that may be feeling out of it with the London Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in that city. What does it matter for our hoteliers and restaurateurs that one top-price ticket for Madonna will cost easily more than two dress circle seats for La Boheme? Madonna fans are far more numerous – and their excitement will extend to a big party afterwards.

Business weighs up bonuses against responsibility

Bonuses waived at Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred Goodwin stripped of his knighthood and Network Rail bosses passing up their bonuses in the face of a gathering storm: there is little doubt that a turning point has been reached and public fury over boardroom excess is hitting home. The problem for politicians now is how to ensure this corrective sanction against excess is properly targeted and does not degenerate into an anti-business pogrom that could end up destroying genuine, hard-earned incentives for enterprise and with it the investment and jobs that entrepreneurs create.

Yesterday Labour, keen to reap maximum political capital, renewed calls for a bonus clampdown at a time when people were facing the “biggest squeeze on their living standards in a generation”. Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna called for a change in culture, which he argued was seeing bankers “right at the centre of the crisis” continue to receive “very high remuneration” in contrast to those struggling to find jobs. Chancellor George Osborne also insists that rewards for failure are unacceptable, but he warned last night that what is at stake are not the pay packages of a few “but jobs and prosperity for the many”. But for that view to prevail, business must act responsibly and with regard to the times we are in.