Public sector austerity is set to continue for another five years, outgoing civil service chief Sir Bob Kerslake has warned.
Speaking at the Institute for Government last night, he said that while the last five years of cuts had been challenging ‘the second five years are likely to prove even harder’.
The former Sheffield City Council chief executive, who became head of the civil service in 2012, warned the ‘easier’ savings had already been made.
He added: ‘We are likely to be doing it against a background of a growing economy and greater competition for good staff. The sense of urgency that underpinned the first savings programme will be reduced. In reality, the task is not yet complete. But this will be hard to explain to those in the public sector, including our own staff, who are looking for some relief.’
Sir Bob said that maintaining public trust in the civil service and other institutions would be vital in the coming years.
‘There is a growing gap between the governing and the governed,’ he warned.
‘There are some who have argued that there is a problem with all big institutions – public and private – and that people now think and act in a more individual way.
‘Big institutions are too hierarchical, lumbering and unresponsive to fully reflect how people now lead their lives. This matters a great deal in a period where Government are seeking to persuade people of the need for radical change.’
He said the responses required – greater transparency, devolving power to the lowest practical level, flatter structures, better delivery, harnessing the power of new technology and higher standards of conduct – were now well established.
‘But we know that we pay a high price for getting it wrong. One high profile failure outweighs ten unheralded successes.’
