Senior officials to have pay linked to performance in civil service reforms

Under-performing civil servants could be incentivised to leave their jobs, and senior officials will have their pay linked to performance, under new Government plans.

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden has said that “the state is not match-fit to rise to the moment our country faces” as he said ministers will “fundamentally reshape” the service.

However a union has described the plans as a “retreading of failed narratives” and accused the Government of delivering a “soundbite, not a credible plan for change”.

It is one in a series of reforms expected to be set out by the Government this week that will also cover housing and regulation.

They will go alongside what officials are calling an “intervention” from the Prime Minister on Thursday.

In the plans to be announced by Mr McFadden at the start of the week, he will promise a new “mutually agreed exits” process, in which civil servants who cannot perform at the level required of them are incentivised to leave their jobs.

The system will be designed to give bosses more tools to address bad performance.

Alongside the exit processes, senior civil servants who are not meeting standards will be put on development plans, with a view to being sacked if there is no improvement within six months, and the most senior officials will have their pay linked to performance outcomes.

He will also pledge to increase the Government’s digital capabilities, with more staff to be employed in relevant roles, and more public services to be digitised.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Mr McFadden said: “The state is not match-fit to rise to the moment our country faces. It is a too-common feeling in working people’s lives, that the system doesn’t work for them.

“With our mandate for change, this Government will fundamentally reshape how the state delivers for people.

“Our plan for the civil service is one where every official is high performing and focused on delivery.

“To do this we must ensure that we go further to ensure those brilliant people who can deliver are incentivised and rewarded, and those who can’t are able to move on.

“The changes announced today will result in a more focused and productive civil service and more efficient delivery of the change working people need.”

The general secretary of the FDA, a union for civil servants, has said that meaningful reform “must put substance before headlines” and any announcement that “points the finger” at public staff “only reinforces the sense that the Government lacks of a credible long-term plan”.

Dave Penman said: “If the Government is serious about transforming public services they must set out what the substance of reform looks like, not just the retreading of failed ideas and narratives.”

He added: “If the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster wants civil servants to focus on delivery, while at the same time government departments are cutting resources, then ministers need to set realistic priorities.

“Delivering more for less is a soundbite, not a credible plan for change.

“Government should get on with the difficult job of setting those priorities rather than announcing a new performance management process for civil servants every other month.”