Conditions of Service (Hansard, 11 June 1990)

§ 94. Mr. Skinner
To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he next expects to meet the civil service trades unions leaders regarding conditions of service; and if he will make a statement.

§ The Minister of State, Privy Council Office (Mr. Richard Luce)
I meet the civil service unions from time to time to discuss a range of matters.

§ Mr. Skinner
When will the Minister make proper payments to the civil service for fiddling Government figures? Civil servants have had to fiddle the dole figures on 23 occasions. They have had to reshape the poll tax 11 times. They are now being called upon to fiddle the cost-of-living figures. Surely it is high time that they were given a conscience payment, which should be paid according to the inverse proportion to the truth.

§ Mr. Luce
It is a gross disservice to 567,000 outstanding civil servants to suggest that civil servants are fiddling the figures. We have one of the finest civil services and it is about time that the hon. Gentleman acknowledged that.

§ Mr. Wilshire
When my right hon. Friend next meets the representatives of the civil service trade unions, will he take the opportunitity to explain to them that if managers in the agencies are to do a truly effective job, they must be given the right to negotiate pay and conditions for their staff?

§ Mr. Luce
My hon. Friend is right in suggesting that the key to success in the establishment of reforms in the Civil Service, which has led to the creation of the agencies, is that there should be as much delegation of responsibility as possible to the chief executives and managers who are in charge. That is the policy which is consistently being pursued. The House will be aware that 31 agencies have been established. Evidence is growing that more and more of the agencies have wide discretion and flexibility in the way in which they manage resources, including salaries.