Attacks by ministers 'damaging' civil service

Ministers' disparaging public attacks on civil servants have damaged staff retention and morale in Whitehall, the government's ethics watchdog has said.

- Rowena Mason Matthew Weaver

Government officials have been accused of being "obstructive and furthering their own agenda", according to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which pointed to an erosion of the normal conventions that govern civil servants' relationship with ministers.

In its submission to a parliamentary inquiry on Whitehall leadership and reform, the committee - which is chaired by a former head of MI5, Jonathan Evans-said ministers should be mindful of the power imbalance, as public disparagement had consequences.

It also said there had been a rise in anonymous briefings from within the civil service, with some officials opposed to the "willingness to test government's the boundaries of legality".

"In recent times there has been an erosion of the conventions that have governed the relationship, with public criticism of civil servants becoming increasingly disparaging in tone and an increase in anonymous briefings by civil servants to the media," the committee said in its evidence to the Commons public administration committee.

"During and after our review, we heard examples of low civil service morale. There will be a range of factors to explain this, but public accusations of civil servants being obstructive and furthering their own agenda is undoubtedly damaging for staff retention and is unlikely to attract the very best people to work in the public sector."

Its submission also outlined findings from its report on leadership in public life, published in January, which said it had heard that the government's "willingness to test the boundaries of legality in challenging policy areas" had been difficult for some civil servants, who had "struggled to reconcile their work with their own personal values".