Civil Service Appointments Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Civil Service Appointments

Alexander Stafford Excerpts
Tuesday 30th June 2020

(3 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Michael Gove Portrait Michael Gove
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Well, the Scottish National party knows something about the importance of political appointments in government in order to deliver its agenda. It is only fair to record that, far from there being any sort of toxicity, the environment in which our civil servants work is one characterised by their determination to put public service first, and for that I thank them.

Alexander Stafford Portrait Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)
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What reassurances can my right hon. Friend give the House that, rather than leading to delays and disruptions, these changes to the civil service’s top team will turbo-charge the Government’s levelling-up agenda—an agenda that the Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to today?

Michael Gove Portrait Michael Gove
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My hon. Friend is right. We need to ensure that we reform how the Government work in order to deliver better for the people whose taxes we spend and in whose name we act. The Prime Minister’s speech in Dudley today was a clarion cry for reform, and we need to ensure that Government are in a position to deliver it.