It was not always inevitable that a policy going badly wrong would lead to blame falling on the civil service. Unfortunately, it is increasingly becoming so. The more desperate the political situation, the more likely it is that the government will find an individual or department to blame. All the better because they can’t answer back.
The Rwanda scheme fits neatly into this scenario. It is by any measure a controversial policy; even its cheerleaders would admit that. There are, of course, moral arguments about the policy – but there are also practical questions. Is it workable? Is it legal? Will it give value for money? The job of the civil service is to work through these quandaries with ministers.
