Mandarins warn of 'strategy gap'

Based on evidence from 60 senior Whitehall figures, it warns there is no “single coherent strategy” and calls for urgent reforms of a “relatively weak” operation.

The hard-hitting analysis was produced by the Institute for Government, an independent charity which aims to “improve government effectiveness”, and will be published today.

“The office of the British Prime Minister holds a concentration of formal power greater than that of almost any other country in the developed world,” it concludes.

“In contrast the fragmentation and lack of co-ordination at the centre of the civil service – the Treasury, Number 10 and the Cabinet Office – leads to an administrative centre that is relatively weak. This curious situation has created a strategic gap at the heart of British government, which inhibits the ability to set overall government priorities and translate them into action.”

The Institute warns: “The need to close this gap is especially pressing because of the current political and economic context.

“Whitehall faces a pivotal moment, standing at the juncture of a general election, with the deficit at a historic level and increasing public expectations for better services.”

It said there was “a conspicuous lack of a single coherent strategy for government as a whole”. While the central departments were run by “powerful politicians”, it found, they “lack effective administrative tools to manage cross-government working.

“This means the Ministries of state are not co-ordinated as effectively as they should be.”

The Cabinet Office rejected that claim, insisting there had been very close joint working on the Government’s response to the global recession.

A spokesman said: “We will obviously study the report with interest. But we do not accept the conclusion on Cabinet Office, No 10, and HMT co-ordination.

“For example, over the last 12-18 months we have worked very closely together and with other departments to develop and drive the Government’s policy response to the global recession through the establishment of the NEC (National Economic Council) and its supporting secretariat – indeed there has been unprecedentedly close co-ordination between HMT and Cabinet Office in this area.”

It had also been at the centre if planning the UK’s response to issues from terrorism, climate change and pandemic flu to flooding, snow and the military campaign in Afghanistan, it said, as well as moves to improve Whitehall leadership and deliver value for money.

A spokeswoman for the Institute, which is funded by the charitable trust of top Labour donor Lord Sainsbury, said the report was not party political.

“The Institute for Government is a politically neutral charity with the sole purpose of helping the effectiveness of government,” she said.

“The report does not discuss the Prime Minister or party politics and personalities in Whitehall.

“It does give well-researched advice about management and leadership and better joining up to help the centre and departments prepare for future challenges.”