Cameron's big society will be swept away by civil service inertia says report

Unless the government can rapidly develop and implement a comprehensive plan for cross-departmental reform in Whitehall, the Government's wider ambitions for public service reform, the Big Society, localism and decentralisation will fail.

That's the verdict at least of the Commons Public Administration Select Committee (PASC)in a report out today.

In a stinging attack on the culture of civil servants,the report,"Change in Government: the agenda for leadership", highlights the lack of specialist expertise and other key skills,as well as institutional inertia and complacency within Whitehall.

Its findings include the premise that the traditional model of Civil Service reform through gradual change will not be sufficient for circumstances where the Government proposes rapid decentralisation and reductions in departmental budgets.

The report calls for the Cabinet Office to take charge of Whitehall reform, saying that without a "comprehensive change programme" there would be "little of the real change which was the watchword of David Cameron's manifesto for government".

Tories to get access to the civil service

Benedict Brogan is quite pleased with himself following this morning's Downing Street press conference.

He asked the PM whether he would be implementing Tony Blair's plans to give top Tories access to the higher echelons of the civil service.

Barely two hours later and the fax machine in Mr Cameron's office has whirred out a letter from the Prime Minister confirming that yes indeed, those meetings can go ahead as agreed by Tony Blair in 2006. So from January 1st, Conservative front benchers will be free to open talks with senior officials about implementing the Conservative manifesto in 2010, assuming it ever comes to that.