HL Deb 05 December 1996 vol 576 cc780-1

3.24 p.m.

Lord Peyton of Yeovil asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the functions of the Office of Public Service and whether they are satisfied that these functions do not encroach upon those of other government departments.

Baroness Trumpington

My Lords, the Office of Public Service carries out functions designed to promote and support good government, the provision of efficient and effective public service and policies which improve UK competitiveness. Details of these functions are set out in the department's last annual report (Command Paper 3220). Co-ordination arrangements exist to ensure that they complement and support those of other government departments.

Lord Peyton of Yeovil

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that Answer. I wonder how much other government departments have welcomed this spur to greater efficiency and also whether the help proffered to them does not seem more like a hard grip on their windpipes. Will my noble friend do what she can to ensure that the new department keeps Parliament informed of its plans and gives Parliament an opportunity to discuss them? The handling of the RAS and the plans in so far as they are understood for the Whitehall estate have generated a few breezes of anxiety.

Baroness Trumpington

My Lords, I am surprised that my noble friend has finished. He is stating his opinion, but he would not expect me to share it. However, I have noted his concerns and I shall draw them to the attention of the First Secretary of State, the Deputy Prime Minister.

As regards the RAS and parliamentary accountability, both Houses had the opportunity to debate the Government's proposal to privatise it and the Government responded to the detailed report of the Public Service Committee of this House on the sale, accepting all but one of its detailed recommendations.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

My Lords, the Minister will recall that accepting all but one recommendation means accepting all the recommendations except the really important one. Does she recall that in May this year Sir Peter Kemp, the former Permanent Secretary of the Office of Public Service, said that Whitehall's existing structure reflects a view of the world that is usually anachronistic, distorted and sometimes just plain wrong. Is that the Government's view?

Baroness Trumpington

My Lords, no. I believe that a pretty good bite was had at the cherry on 7th November when the whole matter was discussed in detail. My noble friend Lord Howe said that the Select Committee did not include the wider question as to whether privatisation should proceed. That was the one recommendation with which the Government did not agree. He also said that the recommendations of your Lordships made for a better contract and arrangements with the new owners in the end and he was grateful to this House.

Baroness Park of Monmouth

My Lords, does my noble friend agree with me that the most useful thing that the Office of Public Service could do would be to direct the scrutiny of Mr. Fisher and the deregulation taskforce to its own operations; for instance, to deal with the novel idea in the OPS that it is going to tackle the burden of paperwork in the public sector, with further scrutinies to be launched? That is a very interesting point of view. Is it my noble friend's view that it may conceivably be part of the intention of the Deputy Prime Minister to change the culture of the Civil Service; but changing that culture seems to involve more paper, not less, except that the paper is OPS-generated and perhaps for that reason is respectable?

Baroness Trumpington

My Lords, this Government are committed to a permanent, politically impartial Civil Service, recruited through the principles of fair and open competition and selection on merit. The Government introduced the new Civil Service code and are committed to uphold the values of integrity, impartiality and objectivity across the Civil Service, which my noble friend Lady Park will know a great deal about.

Lord Peyton of Yeovil

My Lords, I should be grateful if my noble friend could forecast the likelihood of that office achieving its own target of becoming a model of good management practice by the end of this year?

Baroness Trumpington

My Lords, I do not forecast anything, but I shall pass on those remarks, as I said I would my noble friend's other remarks, to the department