Civil servants must not be promoted simply because of time served, Michael Gove said yesterday as he backed a plan to modernise government.
The Cabinet Office minister said that a “blizzard” of technological, environmental and economic challenges meant it was more pressing than ever to change the culture of Whitehall.
Gove is leading a review of how public services can be reformed after the pandemic. He said that he supported proposals in a new report by Policy Exchange, the Tory-leaning think tank, for leading civil servants to face more accountability.
Policy Exchange said that ministers should be allowed to issue strategic priorities to senior officials containing clear targets for their department. The renewal of a permanent secretary’s contract should be conditional on their record of
