11 May 2007
Senior civil servants have called for an immediate review of the Home Office's resources following the creation of the Ministry of Justice this week, claiming that they need more funds to manage the department's new remit.
The Treasury has insisted that the Home Office split, formalised by the establishment of the MoJ on May 9, should not involve additional costs. But mandarins believe that is not in line with past Whitehall overhauls.
Rob O'Neil, national officer at the FDA, which represents senior Whitehall staff including permanent secretaries, said: 'The assertion that the Home Office can be split into two departments without requiring extra resources simply does not reflect the reality of experience with machinery of government changes.
'Splitting the department will do nothing to improve how the Home Office works. Clear priorities and adequate resources will. It is imperative that the government reflects on the resources it is currently allocating to the Home Office to ensure that they match the scale of the challenges it faces.'
The MoJ has been formed by the merger of the Department for Constitutional Affairs with the Home Office's former responsibilities for criminal justice, penal and probation services.
From this week, the Home Office will focus on policing, immigration and security issues.
Lord Falconer, previously lord chancellor, has been appointed secretary of state for justice. David Hanson, previously a minister at the Northern Ireland Office, has joined the MoJ, while former Home Office minister Gerry Sutcliffe has also moved to the new department.
Meanwhile, the home secretary, John Reid, has announced he will step down this summer – to give the incoming prime minister the opportunity to appoint his own choice to front the Home Office.
Reid had famously described his department as 'not fit for purpose', and the creation of the MoJ is one of his suggested remedies to regular failures at Marsham Street.
But O'Neil said he was concerned at yet another change of political leadership. 'The next home secretary will be the fourth to hold that office in a three-year period.
'This merry-go-round is destabilising and the last thing that the Home Office needs now is a new minister to walk in with a box of new priorities,' he warned.
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