Rewiring the State

Debate between Louise Haigh and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

I am extremely grateful for my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm for that settlement for Lancashire. He is absolutely right that it is the way to deliver power and resources for his community and unlock its potential. I am sure that you agree, Mr Speaker. No. 10 North will be extremely busy, given the number of requests that are pouring in, but I will make sure that my hon. Friend is top of the queue.

[Sir Oliver Dowden (Hertsmere) (Con)]

I congratulate the First Secretary of State and welcome her to a very important role in government. I agree with a number of things that she said, particularly about strengthening the role of No. 10. However, there is a large gap in this statement on rewiring the state, and that is to do with civil service reform. There are many excellent civil servants, but I am afraid that it remains a classic 80:20 model; 20% of exceptionally good civil servants do about 80% of the work. If we are really to rewire the state, we need to look at that and not only empower that 20% to deliver more, but find savings from the headcount among the 80%. If the Secretary of State really wants to rewire the state, I urge her to grasp this nettle while she looks at the entire picture.

[Louise Haigh]

A significant programme of civil service reform is under way, led by the Cabinet Secretary. That programme has already begun reforming the civil service recruitment system to ensure that it hires and promotes truly brilliant people. It is reviewing the talent strategy to develop and grow talent right across the civil service and the whole UK, and is launching capability reviews to assess departmental delivery. It is identifying areas for improvement and building on the successful transformation already under way through the Places for Growth programme. However, I absolutely agree that we need to go further.