Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 January 2025

Letter from Catherine Little CB, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary on an update of multiple areas of Cabinet Office business, dated 10.1.25

From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Summary

Catherine Little, Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, updates the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on four areas of Cabinet Office business discussed at December hearings: Business Appointment Rules reform to improve clarity and streamline processes while protecting government integrity; Mission Delivery Board meeting frequency; mandatory bullying, harassment and discrimination training expansion; and the Arms Length Bodies landscape publication covering 305 public bodies.

Key findings

Government committed to reforming Business Appointment Rules to make processes clearer and more streamlined for applicants, with formal Ministerial decisions pending.
Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination training is not currently mandatory in Cabinet Office but will be made mandatory for all staff; Civil Service Expectations added as required learning package in November 2024.
Cabinet Office will set clear expectation that all business units engage with BHD learning at delegated and Senior Civil Service levels with quarterly progress reviews from FY25/26 onwards.
Arms Length Bodies Landscape publication (17 December 2024) covered 305 active public bodies in 2022/23; data collection ongoing for 2023/24 with expected publication end of financial year.
Early communication with those moving into government identified as most effective way to manage Business Appointment Rules compliance and conflicts of interest.

Tone

Procedural

Topics

civil-servicegovernanceconflict-of-interestpublic-bodiesworkplace-culture

Key actors

Catherine Little CB, Simon Hoare MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA), Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Notable line

“Appointment Rules. These rules are vital to protect the integrity of government and, for example, against allegations of partiality in the award of contracts.”

Key Quotes

“The Rules make clear that it is in the public interest that people with experience of public administration should be able to move into other sectors, but recognise that this can give rise to real or perceived con fl icts of interest.”
— Catherine Little CB · on Business Appointment Rules balance between mobility and conflict management

“… there is certainly more we can do to make these processes clearer to applicants and - where possible - more streamlined.”
— Catherine Little CB · on improving Business Appointment Rules processes

“I am currently reviewing all mandatory training within the department and what the best approach is to addressing BHD.”
— Catherine Little CB · on bullying, harassment and discrimination training strategy

View original document →

Source · parliament.uk record ↗