A watchdog is “largely satisfied” with the new Government’s appointments to the Civil Service, after concerns rules were being bypassed to allow political appointments.
The Civil Service Commission – an independent body which regulates appointments to the Civil Service – launched a review when several people with close links to the Labour Party were hired outside of normal processes after the general election in July.
The appointments were made “by exception”, which allows for the usual Civil Service recruitment process “on merit on the basis of fair and open competition” to be bypassed.
Exceptions are an important part of bringing talent and expertise into the Civil Service
The Civil Service is the impartial organisation of staff who undertake work on behalf of the government of the day, regardless of which party is in power.
The hiring of several figures with ties to the Labour Party into Civil Service roles led to accusations of cronyism from the Government’s political opponents.
But the Commission’s chief Baroness Gisela Stuart of Edgbaston said in a letter to top civil servant Simon Case she was “largely satisfied” with how different departments had handled the requests.
However, she said the regulator had found two technical breaches related to record-keeping in two Foreign Office appointments, adding these would be followed up.
To ensure high levels of public trust, Lady Stuart said the commission would begin publishing details about top-level appointments on a monthly rather than yearly basis.
Ian Corfield, who has donated more than £20,000 to Labour politicians in the last decade, was one of the appointments to be scrutinised.
He was initially made a temporary director of investment at the Treasury but it has since emerged he would work as an unpaid adviser rather than a salaried civil servant.
Labour also faced criticism for hiring Jess Sargeant, who previously worked for the Labour Together think tank before she took a role in the Cabinet Office, and Emily Middleton, a consultant who was named a director general in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and worked closely with Science Secretary Peter Kyle in the months before the election.
A Labour source said: “This report destroys the Tory Party’s desperate smear campaign and exposes their rank hypocrisy after they made more than four times as many civil service appointments a month without competition.”
A Government spokesperson said: “Exceptions are an important part of bringing talent and expertise into the Civil Service.
“We welcome this report from the independent Civil Service Commission, which sets out that the Commission is largely satisfied with the processes around exceptions and identifies a range of good practice across government.
“We will continue to work with the CSC to strengthen internal processes and ensure consistency across departments.”
