The Secret World of Whitehall

This evening sees the second part of The Secret World of Whitehall programme being broadcast on BBC Four. The programme has been looking at the role of civil servants over the last century in the role of Government and decision-making operations.

Presented by Michael Cockerell the first part looked at the role of the Cabinet Secretary who it has often been said are most powerful unelected member of the government and the Head of the Civil Service. The post involves implementing the wishes of the Prime Minister and his cabinet and attempting to join up what all the departments are doing into one seamless coherent programme.

In the 100 years since the role and the Cabinet Office have been formed there have been over 30 different formations of Government, and yet only ten Cabinet Secretaries have presided over that period. Maurice Hankey, was the first and remained in post for 22 years.

It is little wonder that this top civil service post is seen as the continual power behind the throne. The Cabinet Office and the Cabinet Secretary while usually orchestrating behind the scenes was brought out into full glare of the Worlds media during the coalition negotiations last summer. It was behind the Cabinet Office doors the negotiating parties retreated to and emerged from day after day while thrashing out an agreement.

In the event of a hung Parliament it was Cabinet Secretary, also named the Head of the Civil Service who had to enable an agreement between one or more parties.

Lamentably, all of those that have been Cabinet Secretary in the last 90 plus years have been white men who were public schools and/or Oxbridge educated.

There has yet to be a Black or female Cabinet Secretary, but there have been some breakthroughs. In 1955 Evelyn Sharp became the first female permanent secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

Last year Helen Ghosh was appointed the first permanent Secretary of a major department. Now, one in four senior civil servants such as Permanent Secretaries and Director Generals are female including Sharon White. [6] Suma Chakrabarti is the only Black Permanent Secretary.

However, recent study showed that only one in a 100 Black applicants had a chance of being recruited while white applicants had a one in 20 chance.

Gus O Donnell’s appointment as the current Cabinet Secretary [4] went some way to demonstrating that the civil service has changed from the days of men in bowler hats and pin stripe suits. As a working class boy ‘done well’ he shows that institutions and cultures like the civil service can transform and reflect modern day Britain. They will need to if BME communities are to have faith that out leaders and their messengers the civil servants understand the plight of BME communities.

The second part of The Secret World of Whitehall is On BBC Four tonight at 9PM.

Ashok Viswanathan

Picture: Cabinet Office Building