The Civil Service is no stranger to absent-mindedly misplacing thousands of pounds worth of equipment. They can’t help themselves…
Guido has been firing Freedom of Information requests around Whitehall to analyse just how much taxpayer-funded kit is going missing from departments. The Department for Education has managed to lose a whopping 72 pieces of kit since April alone. Despite only 69% of them bothering to turn up to the office from July to September…
31 laptops and 41 phones have been lost or stolen in the months of April to October with a total value of £8,262.01. October was the worst for both phones and laptop misplacements with 8 and 9 lost respectively – the figures have risen overall since Labour came to power. Curiously the cost of replacing all this tech is significantly higher than the original equipment at a whopping £39,641.66. Quite some upgrades…
Starmer has written to all civil servants today. He’s lathering it on thick since he said they were sitting in a tepid bath of managed decline then reversed his position within a day…
Unions representing civil servants are not happy with Keir. There is still discontent bubbling despite McFadden’s blame-shifting reform speech yesterday – one civil servant tells Guido Starmer is producing a “stream of negative comments that erode away their goodwill. Right now, a tepid bath seems to be the the only thing he is capable of running.” Keir spends the first two paragraphs talking about how great the Civil Service is. Pass the sick cup…
“from all I have seen during my first five months as Prime Minister, my appreciation of your service to this country has only grown… It is not just because I know how hard you work. It is because I understand something of what drives your dedication and professionalism. You have this strong sense of public service in everything you do. For you, it’s not just a job. You want to change the country and make Britain a better place. Put simply, I believe we all share the same goal – we have all followed a path towards public service to serve our country.”
Starmer goes on to blame politics for issues in the blob as he invites Whitehall to “feel emboldened to challenge” those “things that hold you back from delivering the change we need to deliver.” He then holds up the response to the summer riots as a model for how to act in future, before thanking them again. Downing Street will hope that this can calm nerves…
Read Starmer’s full letter below:
Continue reading “Starmer Writes Conciliatory Letter to All Civil Servants in “Tepid Bath” Fallout”
Fallout after the PM’s Cummings-inspired jab at the Civil Service, dismissing it as a “tepid bath of managed decline,” has left Labour in damage-control mode with Starmer U-turning on his comments within a day. Now Pat McFadden is scrambling to smooth things over by pledging to shake up the state, promising it will be “more like a start-up…”
Speaking at UCL, McFadden will launch a flashy £100 million fund aimed at pioneering public service reform. The FDA union has given their seal of approval for these reforms, though Starmer’s still not in civil servants’ good books…
McFadden insisted plans for Whitehall reform are not an attack on civil servants: “The people are good, but the systems and structures that they work in are too often outdated… They want to achieve, and we have to help them do it.” Though he went on to say “public servants are very clever people, but they’re not all-knowing”. Which is why the state needs to invest in new technology…
McFadden says the first “wave” of “test and learn teams” will begin in January, working on temporary accommodation and family support to make the state more like a “start up”, with more waves will follow later in 2025. He also says departments will have to make 2% savings, with “more to come” in the spending review launching tomorrow. No plan to cut jobs in the civil service though…
He goes on to ask “innovators” with tech expertise, or “weirdos or misfits”, (echoing Cummings again), to join the No. 10 Innovation Fellowship Program, saying “this is your time to serve your country.” Calling on them to channel their inner patriots…
The UK’s Civil Service has long been touted by lovers of the blob as “world-leading”, having ranked number one in the last OECD-focused index in 2019. Sadly for them, the Whitehall “Rolls-Royce” can no longer cling on to that title to justify its ballooning headcount and cost...
The UK’s Civil Service has now dropped to joint-sixth place with New Zealand in a new global ranking of civil services, lagging behind Norway, Singapore, Denmark, Canada and Finland. In direct public service delivery, the UK now scrapes into 14th place. Hardly a shock when civil service office attendance is stuck at a feeble 63% and public sector productivity has taken a nosedive. All while Reeves doles out a massive £10 billion in public sector pay rises…
While DHSC prepares to enact landmark legislation to ban everyone from smoking the department has been told to stay away from Whitehall. Because there’s no WiFi…
Guido hears the WiFi went down at DHSC’s headquarters at 39 Victoria Street on November 22nd (last Friday) and it still hasn’t been fixed. The latest advice for civil servants today is to work from home if possible, though the building will be open “for those who do need to work in the office for business or wellbeing reasons.” Have a lie in this week…
The incident management team says IT are working to fix the WiFi “with the highest urgency and priority,” which after five days means “initial repairs were made overnight to infrastructure external to the building, and connectivity has worked normally today for approximately 200 people (roughly one quarter of full capacity).” With any luck there will be enough internet for everyone by Easter…
The above sticker has popped up over at the Ministry of Housing. Guido had to check if it was a joke…
PCS, the civil service union, is taking a break from campaigning for Jeremy Corbyn to ramp up its efforts to have Fridays off for exactly the same pay. Its new petition touts:
“A five day week was introduced 100 years ago – but it’s not fit for our modern working world. Technology has overhauled the way we work, but our working hours remain the same…. A four day week would give us an additional day to spend how we like. For parents or those with caring responsibilities, care costs can be reduced massively, creating a fairer workplace. More time away from work to do the things we enjoy means less burnout, better health, and a better quality of life.”
Surveys of public sector pen-pushers indicate they want a four-day week. Will Rayner be able to resist demands from her own staff to spend more time “running errands”?
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”