Civil Servants

The IPPR has published a report on the Civil Service which says:

This report argues that in spite of its many qualities, the senior civil service is still too often amateur and insular, poor at strategic thinking, leadership and performance management. These worrying conclusions are founded on more than 65 interviews with senior civil servants, ministers, and public management leaders.

This BBC account gives a summary. We should be having a debate on the role of the Civil Service in Wales as well, following the publication of the Beecham Report and the absorption of key quangos into the Civil Service.

The Assembly Audit Committee does provide an opportunity to hold civil servants to account. But is it enough?