Public Sector Leadership

HC Deb 18 July 2003 vol 409 cc693-4W

Mr. Norman

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what measures he has put in place in the last two years to(a) track the career moves and (b) monitor the improvement of individual public sector leaders, as referred to in the Strategy Unit Report on Strengthening Leadership within the Public Sector; [126696]

(2) what measures he has put in place within the last two years to gather data on (a) career progression and (b) wastage rates of public sector leaders, as referred to in the Strategy Unit Report on Strengthening Leadership within the Public Sector. [126697]

Mr. Alexander

A significant number of actions have been taken in the last two years to improve and measure public sector leadership.

In the Civil Service, the Senior Appointments Selection Committee (SASC) takes a strategic overview of senior appointments, succession planning and leadership development. Over the last year, SASC (supported by the Cabinet Office) has shifted its annual succession planning round with the aim of providing a more strategic overview of talent in the SCS and those with potential for top posts. It includes individual Departments' assessment of their short- and long-term skills needs to meet priorities, an assessment of their current talent pools and what they are doing to develop individuals through career moves and broader development.

The Cabinet Office also collects data on the Senior Civil Service workforce, which include information on progression rates through SCS Pay Bands and leavers. These data are used to inform SASC's succession planning overview.

In the wider public services, priority has been given to strengthening leadership. For example, in the NHS through the NHS Leadership Centre, in Schools with the introduction of the Leadership Incentive Grant, and the Police with the establishment of the Central Police Training and Development Authority last year. There has also been a focus on monitoring leadership improvement through inspection, for example the Local Government Comprehensive Performance Assessment corporate reviews.