New Cabinet Secretary Calls for Different Approach from Civil Servants

On his inaugural day as cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald informed civil servants that they would need to “do things differently.” In a communication addressed to the 500,000 civil servants, their new leader pledged a “rewiring of the way the government works.” Sir Chris, who previously led the departments of health and education, assumed leadership of the civil service less than two weeks after Sir Keir Starmer asserted that “too many” officials were “comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline.” The FDA union, representing senior civil servants, has characterized the new government’s approach as “astonishing” and “really damaging.” Privately, Labour officials new to government have voiced concerns that the Whitehall system is excessively large and obsolete. However, FDA general secretary Dave Penman stated that civil servants “feel a sense of betrayal” from the prime minister. In his message to all staff, Sir Chris expressed that he was “deeply honoured” to accept his new position, further stating that his function was “to support the prime minister and government to deliver for the country.” He quoted, “The prime minister has been clear that he wants a re-wiring of the way the government works to deliver his recently announced Plan for Change.” He continued, “This will require all of us to do things differently – from working much more effectively across departments to taking advantage of the major opportunities technology provides.” Sir Chris concluded, “Throughout my career, I have seen the civil service adapt and change to achieve incredible things for the people of the United Kingdom. I know that together we will relish the opportunities the coming years will bring.” Sir Chris, aged 56, commenced his civil service career in 1991 within the Department for Education. He subsequently led that department and the Department of Health and Social Care during the Covid pandemic. He was identified as the most experienced candidate among the four individuals on the final shortlist for the cabinet secretary role. Upon the announcement of his appointment earlier this month, he received commendation from former health secretaries: Sir Sajid Javid, who labeled him “brilliant,” and Matt Hancock, who characterized him as a “natural reformer.” Dominic Cummings, who served as former chief adviser to Boris Johnson during the pandemic, offered a contrasting perspective, asserting that the appointment indicated “the Westminster system is totally determined to resist any change and will continue all the things of the past 20 years that have driven us into crisis.” Sir Chris has succeeded Simon Case, who resigned from his position as cabinet secretary after slightly more than four years due to health reasons. Case has been receiving medical treatment for a neurological condition for the last 18 months. Case had occasionally been a contentious figure, drawing scrutiny especially regarding his involvement in the Downing Street parties saga and his communications with ministers during the pandemic. Last week, a government source informed the BBC that over 10,000 civil service positions might be eliminated as part of Labour’s initiative to achieve 5% savings across government departments. This year, the civil service headcount exceeded 513,000, representing a 33% increase since 2016 and marking the eighth consecutive year of growth, according to the Institute for Government. The source indicated that ministers acknowledged civil service numbers “have gone up and up, and in reality that is not going to be able to continue.”