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Ministers blamed for govt failures

15/05/2008

Ministers, not civil servants, should be held responsible for the government's failures, a union leader will say this morning.

Jonathan Baume, general secretary of senior public servants' union the FDA, will argue in a speech in central London that ministers should be included in the capability reviews currently only carried out on civil servants.

He says five per cent cuts in departmental budgets are unlikely to boost the quality of analysis which is vital to helping ministers make policy decisions.

"To be blunt, if ministers are facing difficulties, they have only themselves to blame," he said, using the example of the recent row on 10p income tax to justify his point.

Ministers are also set to come under attack for endorsing the "system of licensed greed" Mr Baume says has been established around expense arrangements.

"It is easy for MPs who have their mortgages and weekly food bills paid by the taxpayer on parliamentary expenses to argue that others should tighten their belts," he will add.

"The failure to date to tackle what the public regard as widespread abuses - even by ministers - of expenses from the public purse is corroding respect for good government in the round."

Today's speech comes a day after Gordon Brown announced plans to cut civil service numbers to 1945 levels.

Mr Baume dismissed the move as "glib and superficial", accusing the prime minister of going for quick headlines.

He said in 2004 a similar move was followed by spending of up to £2.5 billion a year on external consultants.

"What ministers need to focus on is developing and delivering policy, not cutting jobs," he finished.