No that is not my heading but Lord Digby Jones’s -BBC NEWS, it seems that someone has actually reported the bare facts.Ex-trade minister Lord Digby Jones says he was "amazed" to discover how many civil servants "deserved the sack".
He told a committee of MPs he thought the civil service could "frankly... be done with half as many" people.
The ex-CBI chief described being a junior minister as "one of the most dehumanising and depersonalising experiences" anyone could have.
Lord Jones spent a year as a minister as part of Gordon Brown's original "government of all the talents".
He added: "Frankly the job could be done with half as many, it could be more productive, more efficient, it could deliver a lot more value for money for the taxpayer.
"I was amazed, quite frankly, at how many people deserved the sack and yet that was the one threat that they never ever worked under, because it doesn't exist."
All I can say is blimey!
But as all politicians do he ruined the warm feeling that was building up in my heart, by saying: “he applauded the practice of bringing outside specialists into government by making them peers and called it "an excellent idea".
This is the Governments way of bypassing the need for elected officials to take top jobs in the gov.
Which is a bit odd really, surely the Government should have enough expertise in the civil service-oh no I forgot half of them need sacking!
“Journalism is literature in a hurry.”- Matthew Arnold.
Angus
7 comments:
We've just been talking about this matter. So many give poor return for their salaries and it's all with the security of knowing they can't be sacked.
Now I am wondering if that means top Civil Servants or just generally...
I can see that neither you or James have been on the coal face ;-)
Think how bad you feel about what is going on with the Civil Service... the workers on the inside see it from both sides and are doubly hacked off!
Maybe I should have just tiptoed in to this post and sneaked out quietly ;-)
I have been at the "coal face":)
I worked for the DHSS as it was known then, and was in the LBO (london Beneits Office) which was based in Hampshire, I left after about a year or so because of the dismal management and the attitude of the people who had woked for the civil service for a few years.
The attitude was do as little as possible and get as much recognition as you can.
Although the words above are not mine, I do see the reasoning behind it.
But it really isn't worth falling out over
;-)
The attitude was do as little as possible and get as much recognition as you can.
Thankfully that has gone now, that sort of attitude and behaviour used to really annoy me too! Although now it has gone to far the other way.
No it's not worth falling out about :-)
It was back in 1971, when the management still wore bowlers!
Glad it's changed(even if not for the better), BTW they weren't my words but Digby Jones's.
I didn't start until 78, but the ethos was still the same as you mentioned...
I know they weren't your thoughts and I have enjoyed having the discussion with you :-)
As to the DHSS and it's successive departments. It is the one department that my colleagues and I always say to avoid working for at all costs!
I have now published a post on this too. The post was drafted before our discussion here.
Now you tell me!
It was a brand new dept, and about 120 of us started at he same time after a year there were seven of us left,the case load was over 100 new cases a week.
People just cracked up under the strain, I left before it happened to me, I think.
M\ybe I will do another post on working for the civil service in those days.
Put the other point of view.
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