Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was among those to leave their posts. Photo: Civil Service Quarterly.
The United Kingdom Parliament’s constitutional experts have expressed concern over recent departures of senior public servants, saying that some were dismissed because of perceived ideological differences with government ministers.
In a report, the House of Lords Constitution Committee stated that it had been prompted to examine the issue by the “high-profile removals of senior Civil Servants on what appeared to be political or ideological grounds”.
The report says that in 2020 alone, 12 Permanent Secretaries or Public Servants of equivalent seniority left their posts, including Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill.
It also referenced the departure of Permanent Secretary of the Treasury Sir Tom Scholar in 2022 which “was widely reported as a sacking”.
The report cited Sir Mark describing the departures of Sir Tom and National Security Adviser Sir Stephen Lovegrove during the short-lived administration of Liz Truss as “a deliberate signal to Whitehall that political alignment with the government’s views was the key criterion, and that capability, loyalty and performance were not”.
It states: “Some recent departures and appointments have been conducted in the public eye and might be seen to reflect a desire on the part of ministers to personalise appointments and assert their authority”.
The report, titled Permanent Secretaries: Their Appointment and Removal, warns that this “risks Civil Service turnover coinciding with Ministerial churn, creating a perception of politicisation and damaging institutional knowledge”.
The report states: “It is particularly important that removal of a Permanent Secretary on the grounds of a poor working relationship does not become cover for arbitrary removal of Permanent Secretaries on personal, political or ideological grounds, which should not occur under any circumstances.”
The report stresses that Special Advisers to Ministers should have no formal involvement in recruiting or dismissing top officials, and decries “disturbing comments” by Advisors in recent years over the appointment or departure of officials.
“Public statements of this nature are unacceptable because they risk giving the impression — or tolerating the reality — that Special Advisers are managing Civil Servants,” it says.
A government spokesperson said: “The government is grateful to the committee for its report and will carefully consider its findings”.
