Civil Service Live

DFID minister salutes role of civil servants

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Civil servants and ministers should always seek to work as a team, according to DFID minister Gillian Merron.

Merron told delegates at Civil Service Live that she and her ministerial colleagues are in a privileged position.

“You are appointed by the prime minister and, lets be honest, there are not many vacancies, so I consider myself very fortunate“

Merron went on to tell her audience that ministers aren't there to be managers.

“This is why we have people in the Civil Service to run things,“ she added. “My job, I believe, is to make the best decisions possible, acting on Civil Service advice, and to set policy and direction and make sure we stick to it. It's not about micro-managing. If a minister is micro-managing is micro-managing there is something not right.“

She also said that it is crucial for ministers to praise their teams when such applause is merited.

“There is a very strong role for ministers in understanding that while they are not micro-managing civil servants they are nevertheless working with them, and should give praise, and thanks and encouragement, as well as giving feedback on what isn't going right.“

“The best advice I can give to civil servants is to put themselves in the minister's shoes. They should ask themselves whether they would go to a despatch box with that briefing, would they sign that letter, and so on.“

Gillian Merron

On working with civil servants, Merron, who said she was delighted to be speaking at Civil Service Live, sought to give examples of good and bad incidents.

“Yesterday a senior manager came to see me and asked me 'How can I help you?' This was rather nice and allowed me to list where he could help. He was wanting a sense from me about what my priorities were which I was able to give him. So this was a successful meeting.

“Another example. One of my initiatives in DFID is to do training sessions for officials involved in drafting correspondence, letters and answers to parliamentary questions.

“The sessions allow me to show them what I am looking for. I am now getting letters to send to MPs which are friendly, helpful, informative and straight to the point. I've had three MPs come up to me to thank me for that letter and to say their constituent really appreciated it. This doesn't happen very often“

She also focused on when the relationship isn't as positive.

“At its worst it can be frustrating and misses the point,“ she said. “My classic example is if I'm going to the chamber to answer parliamentary questions and I'm handed what civil servants think is a good briefing but it is an absolute wodge and no use to me at all because it doesn't relate to the circumstances in which I am going.

Merron, who was previously Civil Service minister and a minister at the Department for Transport, told her audience that nothing equips a person for being a Member of Parliament.

“There is no training course or qualifications,“ she admitted.

“But the change to being a minister was the hardest change. If civil servants are working with a new minister then it is very hard for them.

“Ministers know what they have to do but they don't know about working with civil servants or running a private office. They won't have stood at a despatch box. Where civil servants come in is allowing ministers to make the transition to doing different jobs so it's a crucial role.“