Officials from some government departments – notably the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – appear to have complained about the amount of work required to wade through thousands of complex regulations. The source also pointed to Whitehall officials trying to block government policies such as the decision to end the Civil Service Fast Track, which sees more than 1,000 university graduates enter government each year. “The decision to include fast-tracking in the headcount reduction took weeks to agree despite the prime minister telling the cabinet,” the source said. The Telegraph reported last month that there was deep concern about the proposal among permanent secretaries, the officials who lead each government department, with senior mandarins pressuring Simon Case, the Cabinet secretary, to scrap the plans.
“A well-oiled machine”
Earlier this year Mr Rees-Mogg said the Government would cut the number of Civil Service workers by around 65,000. The total size of civil servants shrank between 2010 and 2016 from 470,000 employees to 384,000. However, since then, the number has risen again to 472,000, the highest on record. The swelling numbers are partly due to dealing with Brexit as well as the response to the pandemic. The Whitehall review, which will be chaired by Lord Maud, a former Cabinet Office minister, will consult a range of experts on how to make government more effective. Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “The public rightly expect the government to be a well-oiled machine, with clear lines of accountability ensuring the government makes the best possible decisions and gets the most value for taxpayers’ money. “Lord Maud is uniquely qualified to lead this review. Drawing on his vast experience in public sector reform will help us learn from the pandemic and better respond to the priorities of the British public.”
