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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| David Cameron hails 'real improvements' in civil service | David Cameron hails 'real improvements' in civil service |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| David Cameron has defended his shake-up of the civil service, saying there have been "real improvements in efficiency and competence". | David Cameron has defended his shake-up of the civil service, saying there have been "real improvements in efficiency and competence". |
| The prime minister told a committee of senior MPs that relations between ministers and their officials were generally "harmonious". | The prime minister told a committee of senior MPs that relations between ministers and their officials were generally "harmonious". |
| It comes after a report by a committee of MPs said trust had broken down. | It comes after a report by a committee of MPs said trust had broken down. |
| Mr Cameron cited the 2012 Olympics and progress on Crossrail as evidence that big projects could be delivered. | Mr Cameron cited the 2012 Olympics and progress on Crossrail as evidence that big projects could be delivered. |
| And while he could not rule out "another IT failure", he said the government would learn from setbacks. | And while he could not rule out "another IT failure", he said the government would learn from setbacks. |
| The prime minister is being questioned by the chairmen of eleven select committees, including work and pensions, home affairs, transport, political reform, public administration, media and public accounts. | The prime minister is being questioned by the chairmen of eleven select committees, including work and pensions, home affairs, transport, political reform, public administration, media and public accounts. |
| 'Right track' | 'Right track' |
| The government launched a plan last year to make Whitehall less bureaucratic, more focused on implementing policy and able to deliver improved services with scarcer resources. | The government launched a plan last year to make Whitehall less bureaucratic, more focused on implementing policy and able to deliver improved services with scarcer resources. |
| In a critical report last week, the public spending watchdog said the introduction of the government's flagship welfare plan, the Universal Credit, had been hampered by poor leadership, a "good news" culture among civil servants and a lack of project management experience. | |
| MPs have warned of a "breakdown in trust" between ministers and civil servants following recriminations about high-profile project failures, such as the botched West Coast mainline franchise process and the much-delayed e-borders immigration system.. | |
| Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, whose committee has called for a root-and-branch review of the civil service, told the PM there was a tendency for "one or two civil servants down the food chain" to be blamed for mistakes while "systemic" failures in leadership were ignored. | |
| Mr Cameron said there were skills shortages in the civil service, such as commercial and IT expertise, and that must be put right but he said the radical changes that have been introduced in education and other areas showed the system was not "gummed up". | Mr Cameron said there were skills shortages in the civil service, such as commercial and IT expertise, and that must be put right but he said the radical changes that have been introduced in education and other areas showed the system was not "gummed up". |
| "There are changes we need to make. We are making them. Do we need to go faster? Probably but we are on the right track." | "There are changes we need to make. We are making them. Do we need to go faster? Probably but we are on the right track." |
| He said the civil service needed to be "leaner, faster, it needs to be better at implementation rather than just policy making, it needs to learn more commercial skills, it needs to get major projects right, it needs to deal with IT in a different way, it needs to engage with small and medium-sized enterprises not just big companies". | |
| He added: "All those changes, I would argue, are taking place." | |
| Asked by Labour MP Margaret Hodge about the future of the head of the Civil Service, Sir Bob Kerslake, Mr Cameron said he was doing a good job and, amid reports that No 10 was dissatisfied, insisted that "you should not always believe what you read in the newspapers". | Asked by Labour MP Margaret Hodge about the future of the head of the Civil Service, Sir Bob Kerslake, Mr Cameron said he was doing a good job and, amid reports that No 10 was dissatisfied, insisted that "you should not always believe what you read in the newspapers". |
| Press changes | Press changes |
| MPs will later explore proposals for a new system of independent regulation of the newspaper industry, agreed by the three main party leaders in the wake of the Leveson report into press standards and the phone hacking scandal. | MPs will later explore proposals for a new system of independent regulation of the newspaper industry, agreed by the three main party leaders in the wake of the Leveson report into press standards and the phone hacking scandal. |
| The newspaper industry is opposed to the cross-party regulatory framework, to be established via Royal Charter, which would give the new regulator the power to impose fines of up to £1m and to force newspaper to publish upfront corrections and apologies. | The newspaper industry is opposed to the cross-party regulatory framework, to be established via Royal Charter, which would give the new regulator the power to impose fines of up to £1m and to force newspaper to publish upfront corrections and apologies. |
| It has proposed an alternative system which it says is based on Leveson's recommendation for continued self-regulation, which would see Parliament stripped of planned powers to block or approve future changes to regulation and make it harder to bring group complaints. | It has proposed an alternative system which it says is based on Leveson's recommendation for continued self-regulation, which would see Parliament stripped of planned powers to block or approve future changes to regulation and make it harder to bring group complaints. |
| The Privy Council will consider the alternative proposals later this year. | |
| The prime minister last appeared before the committee in March, when he was questioned about events in Syria and the rest of the Middle East and food safety issues following the horsemeat scandal. | The prime minister last appeared before the committee in March, when he was questioned about events in Syria and the rest of the Middle East and food safety issues following the horsemeat scandal. |