UK cabinet secretary to help cut government ‘sludge’ as new measures announced
The UK government has launched a new programme with the aim of clearing up the ‘consultation culture’ that traps government in outdated regulations and overlapping consultations.
Under the programme, ministers will work closely with the new cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo to speed up decision-making and tackle government “sludge”.
A series of immediate measures will be taken, including a higher bar to require consultations in legislation, and using artificial intelligence to identify existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties that are slowing down delivery.
The government will also replace environmental impact assessments with environmental outcomes reports to reduce bureaucracy around new infrastructure projects, and take action to ensure Equalities Impact Assessments are “proportionate” and drive policy outcomes.
A second phase of the project will see ministers work alongside Romeo to deliver the prime minister’s priorities to rewire the state, with a brief to reform the process for collective Cabinet agreement to speed decision-making, and introduce a new accountability framework for permanent secretaries who lead government departments.
These changes are intended to realise prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s mission to rewire the state, and are part of the wider civil service reform programme launched by chief secretary to the prime minister, Darren Jones, in January. These include the development of delivery-focused performance management measures for senior civil servants, the creation of task forces for government priorities, and a new national school of government.
Read more: UK announces civil service reforms to ‘move fast and fix things’
Moves to tackle systems that ‘prioritise process over progress’
Unveiling the plan, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said that the levers of power in Whitehall were “trapped under layers of outdated regulations and overlapping consultations that prioritise process over progress”.
He added: “We are stripping away these layers to empower brilliant public servants to deliver change for working people, replacing an outsourcing of responsibility with accountability and decisive action.”
Attorney general Richard Hermer added that well-intentioned processes are slowing down decision-making at the heart of government.
“We are getting on with rewiring the government and this review will speed up decision-making across Whitehall to help deliver a more agile, modern state.”
The government says that ministers and civil servants have identified excessive processes and checks that clog up government, creating distance between decision-makers and implementation of policy and delaying change.
Consultations will continue where policy impacts a wide range of complex groups to ensure they meet with the necessary scrutiny, but will not be used for what is called routine changes.
Ministers will also consider plans to streamline the inter-departmental letter exchanges that currently form the backbone of getting cross government agreement in policymaking, which ministers say reinforce government siloes.
Romeo is also implementing a new accountability framework to set clear expectations and measurable targets for permanent secretaries to drive delivery and innovation in their departments.
GGF insights on driving transformation
The changes come after a major Global Government Forum study on driving transformation in government – informed by the most senior UK civil servants – revealed the key enablers to accelerating progress and the barriers that must be tackled if the government is to achieve “a complete rewiring of the British state”.
Based on interviews with 12 permanent secretaries and led by former Cabinet secretary and head of the civil service Lord Gus O’Donnell, the Rewiring the State: Unlocking Government Transformation report sets out four priorities that government should focus on to create the conditions for reform:
- Making digital a core part of government leadership and driving a culture of delivery
- Building transformational capability at every level, including among senior leaders
- Unlocking the full power of data and AI through reuse of proven tools, removing the blockers to data sharing, and smarter procurement.
- Driving joined-up government through mechanisms that enable coordination and peer learning across departments.
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