The Times - UK (2020-08-07)

18 2GM Friday August 7 2020 | the times

News

Cabinet secretary should be the most
esteemed job in public service, the
pinnacle of a career, with a guaranteed
peerage at the end.
Boris Johnson is facing something
akin to a Hobson’s choice, however,
over whom to appoint to succeed Sir
Mark Sedwill as head of the civil
service. All the leading candidates have
ruled themselves out of contention.
Senior Whitehall sources say that a
“dysfunctional” Downing Street and
the power wielded by Dominic Cum-
mings, Mr Johnson’s chief adviser, have
put off almost all the contenders.
“Most people have come to the con-
clusion that the job is a hiding to noth-
ing,” one said. “You’re head of the civil
service dealing with an administration
who are not keen on the civil service.
Sensible people are giving it a pass.”
Another said that they had spoken to
people who had considered applying
but decided not to. “It is not a fun job,”
the source said. “People have seen what
has happened to Mark and thought ‘no
thanks’.”
Sir Mark, who succeeded Lord Hey-
wood of Whitehall in 2018, announced
his resignation in June after a series of
hostile briefings.
Among those who have ruled them-
selves out include Dame Sharon White,
a former permanent secretary at the
Treasury and head of Ofcom who is
chairwoman of John Lewis. She was
seen as the favourite but has made clear
that she has not put herself forward. Sir

John Kingman, the chairman of Legal

& General and former permanent sec-

retary at the Treasury, has ruled him-

self out, as has Sir Suma Chakrabarti, a

former permanent secretary at the De-

partment of Justice. His term as presi-

dent of the European Bank for Recon-

struction and Development came to an

end last month but he has not applied.

Also not on the list is Dame Minou-

che Shafik, a former deputy governor of

the Bank of England and permanent

secretary at the Department for Inter-

national Development. She has accept-

ed a crossbench peerage, effectively

taking herself out of the running.

Among the current cadre of perman-

ent secretaries the most likely candi-

dates have also ruled themselves out.

Sir Thomas Scholar, permanent sec-

retary at the Treasury, who traditional-

ly would be seen as the frontrunner, is

not applying after figures close to Mr

Johnson made clear their hostility to

him in a series of anonymous briefings.

Sarah Healey, permanent secretary

Ministers have given their backing to a

new commission calling for a “funda-

mental overhaul” of government after

the coronavirus crisis.

The commission, made up of former

civil servants, politicians and business

leaders, will take evidence from across

Whitehall and from other countries in-

cluding Singapore and New Zealand. It

is led by the Tory former police minister

Nick Herbert and backed by Michael

Gove, the Cabinet Office minister.

In a 12-month inquiry the commis-

sion will examine the relationship

between ministers and officials. It will

also see how government projects that

often lose attention when their

champions move on can be delivered.

On the 18-strong commission are

Lord Bichard, former chairman of the

National Audit Office, Dame Margaret

Hodge, former chairwoman of the

public accounts committee, and Sir Ian

Cheshire, former chairman of Barclays.

Writing for the Times Red Box, Mr

Herbert said that Covid-19 had shown

the strengths and weaknesses of

government structures. “Every

organisation is urgently considering

how to adapt and survive in the harsh

new world and government can’t be

exempt,” he said.

“Problems are too often character-

ised as the fault of civil servants when

they are systemic... Nor is the solution

simply to increase private-sector deliv-

ery, as poorly delivered and expensive

outsourcing has demonstrated.”

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

P

rincess Augusta

thought it was

frightful, the

Duke of

Edinburgh and

Prince Albert were so

determined to get it the

way they wanted that

they both redesigned it

and for the Queen it

evokes memories of

when she helped to dig

for victory during the

Second World War

(Valentine Low writes).

The garden on the

east terrace of Windsor

Castle, which is

overlooked by the

Queen’s apartments and

has been reserved for

the royal family and

their guests

for more

than 40

years, has

been

opened to

the public in

response to

the social

distancing

rules, which

limit the

number of

visitors to the

castle. The

reopening of

the garden,

which was where

Princess

Elizabeth and

her sister grew

vegetables

during the war,

coincides with

the unveiling of

mementoes

from the

Queen’s

childhood. Pictures of

pantomime characters

painted during the

Second World War for

shows the princesses put

on at Christmas have

been uncovered during

renovation works.

The east terrace,

which features more

than 3,500 rose bushes,

was designed for George

IV in the 1820s to create

a pleasant view from his

apartments. His garden

was not to everyone’s

taste. His sister, Princess

Augusta, declared it

“frightfull [sic] to the

greatest degree”.

In Queen Victoria’s

reign Prince Albert

oversaw the redesign

and replanting of the

garden. Victoria wrote

in her diary: “Albert is

daily occupied... in

superintending the

planting of the garden.”

In the Second World

War it was dug up and

turned into a vegetable

garden. Richard

Williams, learning

curator with the Royal

Collection Trust, said:

“The Queen as a

princess and Princess

Margaret were each

given their individual

small plots to grow

vegetables. They were

growing tomatoes,

sweetcorn and beans as

part of the war effort.”

The Duke of

Edinburgh redesigned

the garden in 1971,

including a fountain in

the shape of a lotus

flower.

The rediscovered

pantomime pictures in

the Waterloo Chamber

were created by the

future film director

Claude Whatham, then

a 16-year-old art student.

Painted on wallpaper,

they filled the gaps left

by Sir Thomas

Lawrence’s portraits of

figures connected with

the Battle of Waterloo,

which had been

removed for

safekeeping.

Dr Williams said that

during the war the

princesses put on four

pantomimes for charity

— Aladdin, Sleeping

Beauty, Cinderella and

one called Old Mother

Red Riding Boots. After

the war the Lawrence

portraits were put back

on top of the pantomime

characters.

Queen lets

public into

her private

garden

t w P E h v d c t m f Q

The garden has 3,500 rose

bushes. During the war

Princesses Elizabeth and

Margaret grew vegetables

Contenders to lead civil service

tell No 10: thanks but no thanks

Oliver Wright Policy Editor of the culture department and seen as a
rising star, has also not applied. Sir Ste-
phen Lovegrove, permanent secretary
at the Ministry of Defence, whose busi-
ness experience was seen to count in his
favour, also let the appointment pass.
Only three current permanent secre-
taries are known to have put their
names forward. “Everyone knows that
if you don’t do exactly what they want
they’ll brief against you,” a source said.
“That’s really hard when one of your
roles is to maintain the integrity of the
civil service.”
Among those who have applied is Sir
Chris Wormald, the permanent secre-
tary at the Department of Health and
Social Care. His suitability has been
questioned because of his role in the re-
sponse to the pandemic. A senior figure
said: “If this contest had taken place last
year then Chris would have been right
up there. But I simply can’t see it now.”
Another candidate is understood to
be Antonia Romeo, the permanent sec-
retary at the Department for Inter-
national Trade. But she is regarded with
suspicion by some in Whitehall for
having aligned herself too closely with
the Conservative Brexit agenda.
The last candidate is Charles Rox-
burgh, the second permanent secretary
at the Treasury, who in normal circum-
stances would not be considered
experienced enough to do the job.
He only joined the civil service in
2013 after a career at the consultancy
McKinsey. The fact that he is not a
Whitehall lifer may count in his favour
given No 10’s stated desire for reform.

Whitehall is

warned it must

adapt to ‘harsh

new world’

In the frame Oliver Wright

Charles Roxburgh

As second

permanent

secretary

at the

Treasury,

he is

responsible

for all issues relating to

growth, productivity,

infrastructure and

financial stability. Before

joining the Treasury in

2013 he was co-head of

the global strategy

practice at McKinsey. He

is married to Dame

Karen Pierce, who in

February was appointed

by Boris Johnson as the

UK’s ambassador to

Washington.

Sir Chris Wormald

Over almost 30 years

Sir Chris has held

senior roles across

four government

departments and led

the policy profession in

Whitehall. He was seen

as a potential successor

to Lord Heywood of

Whitehall

and on

paper he

should be

the

frontrunner.

However, his

current job, running the

Department of Health

during the pandemic,

could count against him

in Downing Street.

Antonia Romeo

As consul

general in

New York

Ms Romeo

won praise

from

ministers for

her championing of

Britain’s post-Brexit

trading opportunities,

and she was picked to

head up the newly

formed international

trade department.

However, she has made

enemies and was

subject to a hostile

briefing campaign last

month claiming that she

had been investigated

for bullying.

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