The government is to rethink performance management processes in the Civil Service in a bid to encourage more innovation from public servants.
Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne announced initial plans to support front-line workers and allow them to deliver the services that were needed, rather than what central government dictated.
Cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell and former Civil Service efficiency czar Michael Bichard are to look into new ways of promoting innovation, making it easier to learn from frontline workers, and delivering greater value for money to the taxpayer.
In a speech to the Guardian Public Services summit, Byrne said: “Success comes not from accumulating, or hoarding, or concentrating power in the hands of politicians or civil servants – it comes from giving it away to people.”
Separately, a National Audit Office report warned there was little evidence that governmental capability reviews were leading to improved public services.
NAO head Tim Burr said although reviews had demonstrated improvements in departments “it remains to be seen how far these actions will result in improvements in the delivery of public services.”
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