05 March 2010
Source: LocalGov.co.uk ()

MPs bemoan high staff turnover at CLG


Mark Conrad

MPs today attacked the CLG over its failure to become a ‘big hitter’ within Whitehall and a perceived lacks of expertise necessary to deliver key parts of its remit.

In their annual report on Eland House, the Commons’ communities and local government select committee, chaired by Labour MP Phyllis Starkey, blames many of the department’s problems on high turnover of both ministers and civil servants since its inception in 2006.

MPs say the CLG is still not the 'big hitter' in Whitehall it needs to be
MPs say the CLG is still not the 'big hitter' in Whitehall it needs to be
Ms Starkey said: ‘Our report acknowledges improvements in CLG’s performance and influence over the last year. However, the department has yet to become the kind of ‘big hitter’ it needs to be in Whitehall and we have yet to see consistent and sustained evidence that the department possesses the full range of skills required for the effective formulation and delivery of the policies for which it is responsible.’

The department’s planning policy skills are heavily criticised, while its efficiency work is questioned at a time when all Whitehall departments are under pressure to deliver new savings.

MPs warn a ‘failure to realise the department’s overall target to shave £887m out of its budget by March 2011 will leave a serious hole in its plans’.

High turnover of staff at political and officer level exacerbates some internal problems, the MPs suggest.

‘It cannot help that officials serve an average tenure of just nine months and that, over the lifetime of the department so far, senior ministers have remained in post for barely a year,’ Ms Starkey explained.

But the report is not all doom and gloom. The CLG’s house-building programme receives widespread praise, while the fire and rescue unit gets the thumbs-up for helping fire authorities reduce the incidence of fire across the UK.

Communities and Local Government's Departmental Annual Report 2009, and the performance of the Department in 2008-09



Your comments

Trying to do too much - again. When will they learn that bigger is not necessarily better??

P A Monk, Consultant, Added: Wednesday, 10 March 2010 11:01 PM



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