Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Acknowledged
Publish understanding of how official location influences policy advice and development
Recommendation
The Government’s claims for Places for Growth imply that it expects there to be an appreciable difference in mindset between policy officials employed in London and those in regional offices, and a corresponding change to policy. However, the responsible Minister was not able to pinpoint how policy advice drafted in a regional office would be different from that drafted in Whitehall. Even where some staff in regional offices may be more likely to have different educational and professional backgrounds, the majority of policy officials are likely to be university graduates wherever they are based given current recruitment criteria, with a certain broad shared framework of intellectual values and approaches this tends to imply. It remains unclear, both as to what changes Ministers want to see in the policy advice they receive from officials, and how the fact of basing more officials in regional Hubs will achieve these changes. The Cabinet Office should publish details of its understanding of how the location of officials influences the advice they provide, setting out how exactly it expects recruiting staff to regional offices will lead to tangible differences in policy development and improvements to the welfare of citizens and communities. (Paragraph 96) Overall conclusions
Government Response Summary
The government says Places for Growth will give people from a wider range of backgrounds the opportunity to work in the Civil Service and that the composition of the Civil Service should be as representative of the people it serves as possible. They state a wider analysis of its impact on policy making will be carried out when the Programme is more mature.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Civil Service will always need to maintain a significant base in Whitehall close to Parliament, but currently has a disproportionate number of senior and policy making roles based in a single location. Through role relocations, Places for Growth is giving people from a wider range of backgrounds the opportunity to work in the Civil Service. By recruiting people in different locations, from a range of backgrounds and with a variety of different experiences, the Civil Service will gain a wider spectrum of perspectives and better diversity of thought in its policy and decision making. The composition of the Civil Service should be as representative of the people it serves as possible. To support Places for Growth relocations, departments are actively engaging with audiences such as school leavers and veterans, as well as promoting apprenticeship opportunities in order to widen the pool of talent available to the Civil Service. Progress has been made already with the Darlington Economic Campus recruiting four fifths of its staff from the region and Home Office’s apprentice-first approach in Stoke-on-Trent to access individuals from all backgrounds and develop the skills and careers of those who join the department. Places for Growth is three years into delivering a ten-year programme and a wider analysis of its impact on policy making will be carried out when the Programme is more mature. However, early indications from locations such as the Darlington Economic Campus and the Sheffield Policy Campus have highlighted the effectiveness of departments in a single location breaking down silos to work on shared policy areas and to engage more effectively with local stakeholders. These locations have also demonstrated their ability to collaborate on policy making with external stakeholders, for example, Sheffield Policy Campus’ involvement with academics through the Yorkshire Policy Engagement and Research Network which connects academic research with local needs to identify solutions to some of the major opportunities and challenges facing the region. Further analysis of the impact of Places for Growth on policy making will be carried out in the next Spending Review period.