Letters Letter of the week Make civil service accountable
Reform Scotland has focused on putting forward ideas which we believe will increase economic prosperity and improve public services. However, we recognise that the structure of government itself plays an important, and often overlooked, role in meeting these objectives. Te civil service is at the centre of devolved government in Scotland, responsible for providing advice to ministers and ensuring that their decisions are effectively implemented. Voters and taxpayers are entitled to expect the efficient conduct of government and we should examine ways in which the civil service in Scotland could be made to work better. Tat is why in the manifesto which Reform Scotland published earlier this month, we put forward ideas which would change the way in which government in Scotland is structured. We should move away from
International Prince Andrew’s role
While it’s fashionable for the media and politicians to call for the resignation of a government representative at the slightest whiff of wrongdoing, in this case the person in question has done nothing discernibly improper. Te charge against the Government’s trade envoy, Prince Andrew? Amongst others, forging close ties with the government of Azerbaijan, which has been repeatedly accused of serious human rights violations. Yet for those who wish to see Azerbaijan pursue a policy of reform, political and economic engagement may be the most effective route. Azerbaijan has thrived economically during the two decades since its independence from the Soviet Union. Indeed,
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thanks in part to sustained British engagement — British companies contribute 51 per cent of all energy industry investment — the country is fast becoming the success story of the region. Far from diminishing Britain’s ties with its country’s leaders and business community, or admonishing the prince for his diplomatic links, we should do the opposite: find ways to enhance and develop them further. Te list of Azerbaijan’s achievements are astounding: economic growth by a factor of three over just six years, the world’s fastest growing economy and the top reforming country in 2008, according to the World Bank. It is also clear that Azerbaijan is spending its wealth
more wisely than most countries blessed with such natural resources: a million new jobs in six years, mortality rates amongst the under-fives reduced by nearly 300 per cent between 1990 and 2009, and a literacy rate higher than Britain’s. While few can genuinely question Azerbaijan’s major strides in social and educational development the question of democratic development remains. It’s important to remember that while democratic roots may not have taken hold as fast as some in the West might like, according to international bodies whose role it is to monitor and build democracy, the story is improving. Despite this, naysayers continue to maintain that Britain should recoil from
engagement with a country such as Azerbaijan until they meet some nebulous benchmark of European acceptability. I say the opposite. Te more effectively we engage now, the quicker that process of reform proceeds and the more both sides in that bilateral relationship stand to benefit. Te British Government’s trade envoy’s links to the country are a mark of the value we attach to that relationship and its importance both here at home and to the people of Azerbaijan.
EDWARD LORD Deputy Advisory Board Chairman, The European Azerbaijan Society
the convention of civil service independence and introduce greater democratic accountability in the senior civil service. Tis could be achieved through democratically elected politicians having the power to appoint senior civil servants as happens in other countries such as France, Australia and Canada. An obvious starting point in Scotland would be to give the First Minister responsibility for appointing the Permanent Secretary. Tis should be combined with the devolution of responsibility for the civil service in Scotland.
Ministers should also be able to choose their own advisers and the private secretaries in their offices. Many of these would still be career civil servants, but it would enable other people to be appointed with experience and detailed knowledge of relevant policy areas. For those matters not related to national security, ministers should be able to share
draft policy papers with anyone they wished to offer a broader range of advice. Notions of an independent civil service somehow acting as a ‘check’ on ministers and blocking ideas of which the media and public disapprove are undemocratic. Ministers should be democratically accountable for the effectiveness of policy; this gives them a clear incentive to appoint the right people and seek outside assistance to ensure they receive the quality of advice necessary to ensure effective policy making. Te current doctrine of ministerial responsibility should go because it shields officials and draws ministers into the process of policy delivery; compelling them to be involved in areas where they will be blamed if things go wrong. Instead, ministers should be responsible for the strategic direction of policy and its communication, while senior officials would be responsible for
the construction of policy and the use of resources. Te processes of the civil service would come under greater scrutiny to ensure they are delivering value for money. Tis transparency should be combined with a more open and meritocratic recruitment system, encouraging a healthy flow of personnel between the voluntary, private and public sectors and the recruitment of people with direct experience in the policy areas they cover. Such reforms to the civil service will not in themselves transform Scotland. However, if linked to the genuine decentralisation of power advocated by Reform Scotland, they would lead to better governance and a more effective public sector in Scotland.
BEN THOMSON Chairman, Reform Scotland
Letters to the Editor with the writer’s contact details, should be emailed to
editor@holyrood.com or faxed to 0131 272 2116. Maximum of 300 words, please.
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