Each UK government department gets dedicated delivery unit in latest civil service reform
A dedicated delivery unit is to be formed in every department in the UK government in an effort to build capacity across the civil service.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, said the approach would be flexible depending on the needs of departments, but that there was a need to improve “inconsistent” capacity and capability across organisations.
Jones said that each new unit would be led by a senior civil servant who would be empowered to act on behalf of ministers and permanent secretaries, and that each senior minister would be given a new delivery advisor in their private office to support this work.
The move is the latest step by Jones to create a government that can “move fast and fix things”, since his appointment as the prime minister’s chief secretary in September last year.
Jones has previously announced the creation of delivery taskforces focused on prime ministerial priorities, which will be “tasked with bulldozing delivery obstacles, not spending time thinking up policy answers”, and the creation of a new joint No10 and Cabinet Office Delivery Unit.
The new departmental delivery units will integrate this capacity into government, Jones said in a speech to the FDA civil service trade union.
Delivery capacity is currently inconsistent across Whitehall, which can lead to the spending of significant sums on external consultancy, Jones said. “I want to build that capacity, reasonably, in house, within and across our departments.”
This won’t be “a one-size-fits-all requirement from the centre”, but will work within existing systems, and ensure best practice is shared on how a senior delivery unit can help to identify barriers and escalate these to ministers and to No.10.
Read more: UK announces civil service reforms to ‘move fast and fix things’
Bringing in delivery experts
Jones said that the government would also bring outside expertise into government to scrutinise the pace and ambition of departmental delivery plans.
Government will look to “bring in people with experience delivering frontline public services or in business” into ministerial private offices, which Jones described as “probably the biggest change in private office arrangements” since special advisers were introduced in the 1960s.
“This could involve dedicated non-executive directors on our departmental boards, but also the integration of new delivery advisors into the private offices of secretaries of states and ministers of state,” he said.
He said he expects the new advisers to be apolitical and “appointed in line with existing civil service rules”, rather than appointed as special advisors.
These announcements build upon Jones’ previous announcements designed to meet the government’s ambition of “a complete rewiring of the state”.
In a speech in January, Jones announced the creation of delivery-focused performance management measures for senior civil servants and a new national school of government, alongside the creation of task forces for government priorities.
Jones also provided updates on the mention in the King’s Speech of plans to “bring forward proposals that strengthen the delivery, accountability, innovation and productivity of the civil service”.
He told the FDA conference that as a minister he had “too often” found that getting things done in practical, straightforward ways could be stifled by constitutional silos that can pitch department against department.
“I was delighted to work with the cabinet secretary to secure in the King’s Speech a commitment to review potential legislative changes to allow a more one-team approach across the civil service, which instead incentivises delivery in the public interest, as well as rebuilding trust in government,” he said.
“This review will look at delivery, innovation and productivity, while also safeguarding the impartiality or values of the service.”
He said that it was “only when we are 100% on the same page with each other, when we have the same priorities, sharing the same need to deliver for the public, and the same understanding of the risks we may need to take to succeed, that the relationship between ministers and civil servants and between departments can be one of complete trust”.
Rewiring the state: Unlocking government transformation
The UK government has set the directive for a “complete rewiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform”.
This Global Government Forum study – which was led by Lord Gus O’Donnell and includes insights from in-depth interviews with 12 UK permanent secretaries – explores the barriers and enablers to transformation in government, with a particular emphasis on the role of digital technologies and data.
The government has also recently created a new senior role focused on leading civil service and workforce reform.
Jerome Glass has been appointed to the new role of director general, future civil service, and will focus on improving delivery, innovation, productivity, culture and pride across government.
Announcing the move, Glass said that he will be leading the cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo’s agenda on civil service transformation.
Read more: UK government creates new ‘future civil service’ role to lead on transformation
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