When I was appointed to be lead NED at the Ministry of Justice in June 2018, I had spent 26 years as a partner at the law firm Freshfields and was halfway through a five-year stint as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. So I was a novice in the public sector, bringing a private sector perspective, but with no understanding of the challenges presented by a rotating cast of ministers, the constraints faced by an “unprotected” department or the systemic risks.
Mark Rawlinson
“Don’t become a member of either tribe” (Sir Richard Heaton).
This early piece of advice from my first permanent secretary seemed logical at the time but over the years, I gravitated more to the civil servants. Generally, they sought advice and support more than ministers (honourable exceptions included Lucy Frazer in the early days and James Timpson more recently). During my nearly eight-year stint (finally stepping down in March this year) I saw seven lord chancellors, or LCs. They all brought their different policies, priorities, personalities and enthusiasms to what is a huge and difficult role. Each rotation caused a degree of stasis as we waited to understand any new policy priorities or subtle changes of direction. They also differed in the degree to which they applied the political lens: “This change might be in the best interests of the justice system, but how will it play out politically?” And each new face at the top brought the inevitable churn at junior minister level and a reallocation of portfolios, neither of which assisted efficient delivery. That said, each LC was appreciative of the institutional knowledge that the NEDs brought and most were remarkably open to constructive challenge.
“Show me the money” (from the film Jerry Maguire).
Funding challenges are a fact of life in government departments, particularly if you are “unprotected”. Being a massive downstream delivery department, over-reliant on legacy systems, makes you particularly susceptible to demand changes over which you have no control. This is exacerbated by an agency structure that multiplies the layers of management, blurs responsibility and accountability, and complicates delivery. Technology is consistently touted as the solution, but investment to replace legacy systems is often too little or a casualty of the allocations process. Arguably, we have too little tech and too many people – someone like me, schooled in the private sector, will inevitably counsel that it is easier to move to a high-performance culture if you pay your top performers (and I have met many) a lot more and remove the “part performers” (which seems hard or very expensive to do).
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go” (T.S. Eliot).
Because of the lack of investment, departments carry a huge amount of risk. Crises are business as usual. Too often, “amber” is seen as good enough and the “path to green” is a route less trodden. When sustaining the day-to-day operation of the system is an achievement in itself, that does not leave much appetite for (even managed) risk-taking or space for innovation. But if the primary focus is always assurance rather than innovation, real change will not happen.
“Be the change you wish to see” (Gandhi).
The civil service knows it has to modernise if it is to consistently achieve excellence in delivery. Dame Antonia Romeo – who was awesome to work with for four years at the MoJ – has the vision and “grip” to modernise. She is a high performer with a “can-do” mentality who will lead by example and engender the loyalty of her top team. She needs everyone’s support in her massive role.
Mark Rawlinson was lead NED at the Ministry of Justice from 2018 to 2026