Sharon White
Second Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury
What were your biggest policy and delivery challenges in 2013? How did you handle them?
Obviously, the biggest issue for the Treasury in 2013 has been the state of the economy. In the latter part of the year the economic news has been improving, and the chancellor now talks about the economy “turning the corner”. Growth has strengthened and inflation has moderated. Throughout the downturn the labour market has performed more strongly than anyone would have predicted, no doubt due in part to the efforts of JobCentre Plus. This year the Treasury has introduced important measures to strengthen the economy – notably the Help to Buy housing scheme, which is increasing the supply of low-deposit mortgages for credit-worthy customers. For me personally, the biggest challenge was the Spending Round (SR) in June that set departmental budgets for 2015-16, which straddles the final year of this Parliament and the first year of the next. The Spending Round took about £11.5 billion out of public spending, while protecting capital spending, health, schools and overseas aid. The Treasury made a big effort to be
open with departments before the SR about the size of the challenge so that they could plan ahead.
Where have you made the most progress in implementing the Civil Service Reform Plan, and what are your reform priorities for 2014?
Over the last year I think the Treasury has put a lot of effort into making our policy making more open. We do have the ingrained scepticism and naturally challenging mindset that you see in finance ministries around the world. At the same time, there is a huge amount of interchange and debate with think tanks and other experts – and not just through the formal consultation process around the Budget. Prompted by the Civil Service Reform Plan, we are looking at how we can stimulate even more creative thinking. In terms of priorities for 2014, I shall be personally focused on taking forward the actions from the review of government finance that I’m leading with Richard Douglas, head of the government finance profession. The review is due to report this month, and I’m determined that it will lead to a stronger role for finance in the Treasury and across Whitehall.
What are your key challenges in the last year of the Parliament? How will you tackle them?
I think the biggest challenge for the department is to continue to provide the best possible support to our ministers and to the coalition government to meet their priorities. Continuing to support the economy will be a top priority. Supporting the government’s reform of public services will be another. I chair the Major Projects Review Group, which oversees the government’s big reform programmes, working closely with the Cabinet Office. The work of this group underlines the importance of good commercial skills, strong programme management, and effective Senior Responsible Officers – all key themes of the Civil Service Reform Plan.
What would you most like Santa to bring you this year? And what would you like him to take away?
I have two boys aged under 10, so I would like Santa to bring me more sleep (a lie-in beyond 6.30am would be nice!), and take away sibling fighting.