Letter: The Civil Service and the changing nature of its mandarin class
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: John Garrett has too much faith in the immortality of the mandarins system ('Mandarins who live for ever', 15 June). There is a lot of evidence pointing in the opposite
direction.
Departments are currently looking at ways of evaluating the outputs of this 'small policy core' including the quality of its advice to ministers. Once such measures are in place Britain may follow the New Zealand route where the policy people are treated as a business unit which will have to compete with others from outside the public service for the work of advising its ministers.
The 'tiggers' being brought in from outside to take up senior posts within the Civil Service, mainly within the executive agencies, may also affect the career structures, expectations and composition of the policy core if, as seems highly likely, some of these 'tiggers' move on from their executive agencies to
take up posts within departmental headquarters.
Yours faithfully,
PATRICIA GREER
School of Social Sciences
University of Bath
Bath
15 June
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments