Proposal to divide the Treasury into separate departments. Photo: ROBERT EVANS/ALAMY
Rishi Sunak will reject a call from an independent expert. A civil service review to split the Treasury, The Telegraph can reveal.
Lord Maude's Whitehall review will be published on Sunday, including a recommendation that the Treasury should be split into separate tax departments. and government spending.
Lord Maud, a former Cabinet minister, has previously said Britain's current system of government is “archaic.”
He argued that the UK should emulate countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. of which “have a single Ministry of Finance, where control of government spending is in the same place as macro-fiscal policy, economic policy and taxation.”
From previous criticism from across the political spectrum, it follows that the Ministry of Finance has an outsized influence on UK politics and tends to have “orthodox” views on economics.
However, the government will reject Lord Maud's recommendation that it be repealed.
The Telegraph understands ministers believe now is not the right time to embark on a major structural overhaul of the Treasury when Mr Sunak's priority is bringing down inflation. .
Last year, Boris Johnson commissioned Lord Maude to examine the “Whitehall wiring”; Photo: OLI SCARF/GETTY IMAGES
There are also concerns about attempting such a review so close to the general election.
The Maud review was commissioned by Boris Johnson when he was Prime Minister in July 2022 to examine the “Whitehall design” and “Efficiency and effectiveness of government and decision-making.”
Other recommendations believed to be , contained in his review, include giving ministers the power to hire their own “independent” civil servants to challenge groupthink and relinquish office. Cabinet Secretary.
Although the report will be published on Sunday, the Government will not initially outline its own official response.
The Telegraph understands that the fact the review was launched before Mr Sunak became Number 10 contributed to & #39; we caution against accepting all conclusions immediately.
Jeremy Queen is leading a separate reform program
Instead, the recommendations are likely to be included in a separate civil service reform program led by Jeremy Quin, the Cabinet Office minister, with a package of announcements scheduled for the New Year.
Mr Quin's reforms will focus on opening up Whitehall to outside talent amid concerns that efforts to expand external recruitment have stalled.
There is a particular focus on reconsidering Whitehall's long-standing trend towards “universalism” among civil servants.
p >The Telegraph understands Mr Queen wants to create “more robust career paths” for technical experts.
This is based on the idea that the civil service needs to be more accommodating to figures such as Ben Warner, the data scientist hired by Dominic Cummings who played an influential role in the UK's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another focus of the reform program will be to speed up the relocation of civil servants from London. The government is aiming to create a system in which an official can rise through the ranks to become a permanent secretary in charge of a department without even having to work in the capital.
There is also discussion about how artificial intelligence can be used to reduce the size of government services.
Mr Quin's reforms will focus on opening up Whitehall to outside talent amid concerns that efforts to boost external recruitment staff are stalled. Photo: RORY ARNOLD/No. 10 DOWNING STREET
Speaking at an event last month, Lord Maud said Whitehall's impartiality rules should not mean new recruits are “expected to come straight from the monastery into government.”
“There is absolutely no reason why people shouldn't do this. become political officers with a political background,” he said.
“We need to be less prudish about political backgrounds and focus much more on what they actually do and what their behavior is.”< /p>
“The reality is that people involved in politics are more likely to respect the democratic mandate and are more likely to understand the motives of ministers.”
The Conservative politician served as a minister for the first time in Sir John. Major's government in the early 1990s, before returning to politics in 2010 under David Cameron.
Lord Maude said that between these two periods in Whitehall a “tendency to recruit to fit” developed .
“One of the things that struck me when I came back to government … was that there were fewer of these mavericks, quirky, a little eccentric,” he said.
“There was a bit of a tendency to recruit because of lethargy, there is much more traditional diversity, much less cognitive and personal diversity, and this is necessary.”
Lord Maude said his proposed reforms to the rules would need to be combined with improved oversight of new hires by a strengthened Civil Service Commission.
A government spokesman said: “Through our ongoing work on government reform, we are already making long-term changes across the public service to ensure we deliver for the public.”
Continuous modernization needed
Jeremy Queen
It is often said that the UK civil service is a Rolls-Royce. It is also often argued that Whitehall needs to modernize if it is to succeed in modern Britain.
Although aspects of Whitehall are world class, there is a consensus, including among the talented civil servants with whom I work every day, that that constant modernization is necessary. It is essential to improve public services, maintain public trust and increase productivity.
My program is simple. Open up the civil service to external expertise and diverse talent, expand opportunities across the UK and accelerate technology adoption. That's why I focused on people, place and technology in my Policy Exchange talk in July.
We've made good progress since then. We've launched a digital secondment scheme, simplified job postings that discourage external talent, and launched new government hubs across the country from Manchester to Sheffield.
But I want to go further. That is why in the new year the Government will develop an ambitious civil service reform program that reflects the recognized need for modernization. We will make the civil service more open, welcome external talent and accelerate the adoption of technology.
Too often the opposition says Britain's best days are behind us. They say the answer is to create more processes in Whitehall, create more cabinet committees and expand the powers of the quango. Readers of this publication know that the only result will be more processes, less productivity and implosion.
The opportunity and promise of reform will allow us to move away from the failed approach of the past, as taken by the Labor Party. I really want to support.
Great opportunities are opening up for the UK on the horizon. Whether it's the promise of artificial intelligence or the possibility of trade deals around the world post-Brexit, I'm hopeful for the future. But to do this we must modernize and reform.
On Sunday I will publish in full Lord Maude's review of accountability and public service management. This is a valuable contribution to the reform debate.
As a Cabinet Office minister, I am deeply proud of the Conservative reform record since 2010. I am excited and energized by the prospect of renewing this program and delivering the modernization we all know is needed.
Jeremy Queen is Treasurer General and Cabinet Office Minister
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