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Mile End Institute

'A Hard Rain'? Reforming the Civil Service

9 October 2020

Time: 12:30 - 1:45pm

The Lessons Learned review into the Windrush scandal, led by Wendy Williams, called for major changes in the culture, operation and recruitment of the Home Office, noting in particular its lack of diversity at senior levels. So how should the civil service change – and what changes should be resisted? Is the principle of a non-partisan, career civil service, recruited through competitive examinations, still fit for the 21st century? What could Britain learn from the experience of other countries, and from previous civil service reforms?

Our expert panellists, Hugh Pemberton (Official History of the Civil Service), Jill Rutter (Institute for Government) and Wendy Williams (author of the Lessons Learned review) explored the future of the civil service and its role in a democratic state in a discussion chaired by MEI Co-Director Robert Saunders. 

A recording of this event is available on our YouTube Channel. 

 

 

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