Civil servants should not ‘cost’ opposition policies, peer says

Whitehall experts have weighed in to a row over claims Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 per family, and whether the Treasury costed that itself.

Rishi Sunak referred to the Treasury’s Opposition policy costings and figures in a TV debate, sparking a row (PA) (PA Wire)

Conservative claims that civil servants are “independent” could put their impartiality at risk, a union chief has warned, as a senior Whitehall expert called on parties to stop asking the Government to tot up their opponents’ policies.

Their statements follow a row over a Tory attack line – that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 per household over four years – which ministers, including Rishi Sunak, have claimed is based on costings by HM Treasury.

The ministry in Horse Guards Road calculated the cost of Labour’s draft proposals earlier this year using “assumptions from special advisers” who are politically appointed, Labour Party policy documents, and past statements which senior Labour figures have made to the press.

Getting civil servants to cost opposition polices in run-up to election needs to stop

Lord Gus O'Donnell

But James Bowler, the most senior civil servant at the Treasury, has said civil servants were “not involved in the production or presentation of the Conservative Party’s document ‘Labour’s Tax Rises’ (nor) in the calculation of the total figure used”.

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union which represents civil service professionals, said: “The HM Treasury permanent secretary being dragged into this political row for his department simply doing its job is a threat to the impartiality of the Civil Service which ministers rely on, and have a duty to protect under the ministerial code.

“Civil servants aren’t independent, they serve the government of the day regardless of which party.

“The figures quoted are based on special advisers’ and ministers’ assumptions, which civil servants are then asked to calculate.

“This is not a new phenomenon – civil servants have done so for successive governments and it does not represent an independent Civil Service assessment.”

Alex Thomas, of the Institute for Government think tank, told the PA news agency: “Civil servants are impartial but by definition they are not independent – they operate under ministerial instruction.”

He added: “Opposition costings are generally a bad idea. They can result in civil servants being put in the middle of a political row, as we have seen.”

Lord Gus O’Donnell, who was once Downing Street press secretary during the John Major years and permanent secretary to the Treasury under then-chancellor Gordon Brown, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Getting civil servants to cost opposition polices in run-up to election needs to stop.

“In (the) past both parties have done it.

“It is an unsavoury practice as assumptions provided by special advisers are biased to make party political scoring points.

“(The) next government should not do it.”

Mr Bowler wrote in a letter dated Monday June 3, in response to correspondence from shadow Treasury minister Darren Jones: “In your letter, you highlight that the £38 billion figure used in the Conservative Party’s publication includes costs beyond those provided by the Civil Service and published online by HM Treasury.

“I agree that any costings derived from other sources or produced by other organisations should not be presented as having been produced by the Civil Service.

“I have reminded ministers and advisers that this should be the case.”

On Tuesday June 4, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed during a head-to-head ITV debate with Sir Keir Starmer that “independent Treasury officials” have costed Labour’s policies, and that they would result in “£2,000 in higher taxes for every working family in our country”.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho repeated the claim on Wednesday morning and when questioned, said: “If I could just push back on that, because I’ve worked in the Treasury and I can tell you that these are brilliant, independent civil servants and they would not be putting anything dodgy in there.”

But Labour’s shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth told LBC the Conservatives “have been caught red-handed lying to the British public”.

He said: “Every single policy that we put forward in this campaign will be fully costed and will explain where the money is coming from.”

Both parties are yet to publish their General Election manifestos in full.

The Conservatives have claimed Labour’s fiscal plans would leave the UK Government with a £38 billion spending black hole, while Labour has costed the Conservatives’ unfunded spending at £71 billion.