§ Mr. Sainsburyasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether she will make a statement on the report by the team led by Sir Geoffrey Wardale on posts in the Civil Service at under-secretary level and above.
§ Mr. HayhoeI have today arranged for a copy of the report to be placed in the Library.
The review team examined a sample of senior administrative posts. Its report concludes that all the existing grade-levels are necessary, but that, judged by the principles that it has proposed, a number of senior posts can and should be removed. It recommends that there should be no presumption that all grades should be used in any one chain of command; that certain criteria should be met before a management level is justified; and, most important, that there should be regular reviews of senior posts, including examination by the Treasury.
The Government accept the report's main conclusions and recommendations. All Departments are being asked to undertake a rigorous assessment of their senior Civil Service posts. Treasury officials and outside consultants will assist with the reviews. Sir Derek Rayner will also be associated with them. Decisions will be taken, including the setting of any targets and the period needed for rundown after the departmental reviews have been completed and assessed in the first half of next year. Thereafter there will be regular reviews as proposed in the report.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is conducting a similar review of senior diplomatic service posts in London. Senior officers of the Armed Forces will be included in the review made by the Ministry of Defence.
72W(2) if he will update table 1.2 of Inland Revenue Statistics 1980.
§ Mr. Ridley[pursuant to his reply, 26 November 1981, c. 430]: The information required to update table 1.2 which includes estimates of the number of higher rate taxpayers for each year since 1978–79, is given in the following table:
Many senior Civil Servants carry a heavy burden of work in the service of the nation. Neither the report nor this response by the Government call that into question. The issue to be examined is how far the work can be organised more economically and flexibly, with greater delegation of authority, in order to secure the better use of the high abilities of a smaller number in the top ranks of the Service.