22 July 2005
Senior mandarins fear that the government's secretive change to the legal status of special advisers, which came to light this week, will give spin doctors new powers over civil servants.
But the Cabinet Office this week played down the implications of its new definitions of special advisers' roles, claiming that they 'merely modernise outdated definitions'. The changes were approved by the Privy Council on June 22 but not announced to Parliament.
Cabinet Office sources also said that the future role of advisers would be further clarified by the announcement of a revised code of conduct for special advisers, due to be published on July 21.
The government used an administrative prerogative, undertaken through the Privy Council, to change Civil Service Order in Council definitions of the role of special advisers from 'advice' to 'assistance'. The change was finally published quietly in the Gazette, the official crown record, on July 5.
The chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Sir Alistair Graham, this week described the change as 'an important constitutional matter,' and attacked the 'hole in the corner' way the government had undertaken the switch.
'I am very disappointed that the government has chosen to make changes to the legislation… without any proper parliamentary or public debate on an issue which has been of clear concern to the public, Parliament and media for some time,' Graham said.
'Even if the intention is not to extend special advisers' powers, the manner in which the changes have been made could lead to this very perception.'
Privately, senior staff warned that the change would further fuel Whitehall's growing mistrust of special advisers. Speaking in advance of the publication of the new code of conduct, one senior Whitehall source told Public Finance: 'At first glance, [the legal change] appears to be a mere semantic switch. But civil servants know better than most how important that can be.
'The fear is that "assistance" provided by special advisers to ministers will allow those special advisers to dictate to civil servants the work undertaken on behalf of ministers – changing operational practices.'
Jonathan Baume, general secretary of the FDA, which represents senior civil servants, described the move as 'bizarre', but added it 'will not change the world'.
'It simply confirms that the role of special advisers has gradually changed over a lengthy period and this is not encompassed by describing it as advice,' Baume said.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said Graham had been informed of the intention to 'publish a revised code of conduct incorporating the amendment immediately before recess'.
All change, as top mandarins prepare for reshuffle
Whitehall is bracing itself for a three-month long reshuffle of senior civil servants, including at least six permanent secretaries, in the wake of the imminent retirement of Cabinet secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull.
As Sir Gus O'Donnell prepares to move from the Treasury to replace Turnbull – who retires from the civil service at the end of this month – Whitehall sources confirmed this week that two mandarins are 'still under consideration' for the prestigious Treasury role.
They are Home Office permanent secretary Sir John Gieve and Treasury deputy permanent secretary Nicholas Macpherson.
Macpherson was understood to have been favoured by Chancellor Gordon Brown, having already overseen the Treasury's ambitious welfare reform programme. He also directed the department's broader public services spending programme.
But Gieve emerged as a strong candidate for the Treasury role after narrowly losing out to O'Donnell in the race to replace Turnbull.
One senior Whitehall source told Public Finance that many senior staff had expected that Macpherson would be a 'shoo-in', but added that Gieve was 'held in the highest regard'.
An announcement on the Treasury appointment should be made in the next two weeks.
But the Cabinet Office must also oversee other permanent secretary appointments before the end of September.
The top post at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will soon become vacant, after the incumbent, Sir Brian Bender, was confirmed this week as the new man at the helm of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Three key permanent secretaries are also set to retire shortly, the Cabinet Office has confirmed: Sir Kevin Tebbit at the Ministry of Defence, Dame Mavis McDonald at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Sir Joe Pilling at the Northern Ireland Office.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: 'All three of those posts should be filled by the end of September, at which point the situation regarding permanent secretaries should settle down.'
However, other departments could also be affected. It is 'likely' that Tebbit's MoD post would be filled by an existing permanent secretary, a departmental source said, potentially creating another vacancy.
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