Gisela Stuart, First Civil Service Commissioner, has now decided to carry out a review of appointments made by the “Exceptions” process which allows the government to circumvent usual impartiality rules in making civil service appointments. Stuart cites “interest in a number of recent Civil Service appointments by Exception and the importance of public trust in these appointments” as her reason for launching the review…
Departments have been told to produce two things:
- Details of appointments made by Exception between the period of 1 July and 31 August (inclusive) which did not require the approval of the CSC.
- A summary of processes in place within your organisation to approve Exception requests made by vacancy holders in line with the expectations set out by the Recruitment Principles.
Departments have until Friday next week to return details to the Commission for review. More samples will then be collected and a final set of recommendations issued. Maybe Jess Sargeant wants to look into it?
UPDATE: John Glen MP, Shadow Paymaster General, said:
“I welcome that the Commission has backed our calls for a review into Labour’s crony appointments. As the first step, we need full transparency from the Government on every “exceptional” appointment they have made since the general election. Keir Starmer can no longer try to brush this under the carpet.”
Labour just can’t get enough of their previous political staff handed supposedly neutral civil service jobs. In what is now becoming a major scandal, ministers are failing to justify the provision of mass-Labour donor Waheed Alli with a Downing Street pass and Labour aides are entering the civil service in droves. It’s not just Sue Gray bringing on her loyalists…
Wes Streeting’s political press officer Joe Davies, employed by the Labour Party in the four months to election, was handed a civil service media relations role this month. DHSC deploys the usual line when asked about this parachute job by Guido: “The department does not comment on individual personnel matters. Any appointments are made in line with the civil service rules on recruitment.” The department has not denied that the job was given without interview. Normally ministers’ civil service press teams are composed of impartial civil servants…
If the job wasn’t advertised externally, what exception was used? Who signed off on the exception? Did Streeting make a declaration of interest?
Starmer’s line when asked at his ‘State of the Nation’ speech was that “most of these allegations are coming from the very people who dragged the country down in the first place.” Which is complete nonsense as it’s the press, not Tories, digging out these appointments…
Guido is told that, while donor Ian Corfield’s crony civil service appointment won’t be going ahead, Jess Sargeant’s position in the Propriety and Constitution Group hasn’t changed. There’s no stopping this train…
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.”
