Whitehall chief calls for limit on powers of special advisers
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Your support makes all the difference.A statutory limit on the number and powers of special advisers will be proposed today by the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Richard Wilson, head of the Civil Service.
In his swansong speech before retiring this summer, he will outline plans to prevent a repeat of the internal war which destabilised the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions after feuding between civil servants and Jo Moore, former special adviser to Stephen Byers.
Sir Richard will call for a new Civil Service Act to regulate the work of the special advisers to ministers, whose ranks have grown from 38 to 81 since Labour came to power in 1997.
In a direct response to the criticism of Ms Moore, who was accused of "bullying" officials, Sir Richard will propose that special advisers should not be able to issue orders to civil servants. He is expected to call for "a clear indication of what they cannot do and how they should be deployed."
He will say that officials should be able to make a complaint about the behaviour of advisers through the independent civil service commissioners, who currently advise on appointments. At present, they must complain to their Permanent Secretary but Sir Richard believes some are reluctant to do this because they fear it might blight their career prospects.
The Cabinet Secretary will argue that special advisers should remain a permanent feature of the Whitehall landscape, saying their role is valued by ministers. He will point out that only 11 of the 81 advisers are "spin doctors" who brief the media, with the others working on policy.
But he will propose that Parliament should impose a ceiling on the total number of advisers – a move likely to be accepted by the Government when it outlines plans for a Civil Service Act later this year. The Act would ensure that advisers would be governed by a legally binding code of conduct for the first time, like civil servants.
Sir Richard's call for ministerial advisers to be reined in will be seen as an attempt by civil servants to reassert their authority. But he will also acknowledge Tony Blair's call for a change of culture in Whitehall, saying that the Civil Service must become more involved in ensuring the delivery of the Government's objectives.
He will also endorse the Prime Minister's plan for more people from the private sector to be appointed to senior posts in Whitehall. Mr Blair is frustrated that more businessmen have not been recruited by the Civil Service and has raised the maximum salaries for senior officials in an attempt to attract more high-calibre outsiders.
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