In your experience, what are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of our civil service?
The great strength of the civil service is its commitment to and skill in keeping UK plc moving. The weakness is its lack of ‘personality’ and remoteness – exacerbated by the loss of the regional government offices.
In your opinion, how could partnership working between government and businesses be improved?
I have spent almost 20 years working with the public sector. As time has progressed, the process of procurement and the culture which it has fostered has come between the two sectors. Without significant changes, the public sector will continue to fail in attracting market interest in procurements and outsourced services – missing opportunities to drive innovation and value for money. The sectors need to be able to talk to each other and work together to ensure that the ‘brief’ and the ‘bid’ are optimised.
What was the most inspiring government project that you’ve been involved in, and why?
Not a single project, but many. Working with English Partnerships [now subsumed into the Homes & Communities Agency] in bringing forward brownfield land for development made a real contribution to revitalising many communities which were going through massive economic structural changes. With today’s calls to accelerate brownfield development to deal with the housing crises, I cannot help but think this programme needs to be reinvigorated.
Tell us an anecdote that reveals something about government – or about the private sector’s views of it.
I received an email today with a tender document attached, telling us that it was advertised and no one put in a bid. How can that happen?