Now move Department for Education out of London as Gavin Williamson’s former mandarin blasts Whitehall knows best culture – The Yorkshire Post says

Mr Slater was the most senior civil servant at the Department for Education from 2016-2020 and his latter years coincided with Mr Williamson’s appointment as Education Secretary on the day when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister.

Gavin Williamson knighthood shames honours system, insults teachers and epitomises Boris Johnson’s tawdry government – The Yorkshire Post says

Not once did Scarborough-born Mr Williamson – previously sacked as Defence Secretary by Theresa May – justify the misplaced faith placed in him, even more so when Covid took its toll on the schooling of students.

Yet Mr Williamson’s aloofness, inept decision-making and hopeless communication was compounded by the wider modus operandi of a London-centric Whitehall machine that showed “surprisingly little interest”, says Mr Slater, on how its policies affected the public.

He goes on to cite his depressing experience of so-called “announceables” which he describes as “minor initiatives that ministers can announce in the hope that they’ll be noticed despite their insignificance because nothing else is going on”.

But, most damning of all, Mr Slater said there was never any data from schools, teachers or parents on the impact of Government policy-making (and meddling) on education.

Significant criticisms that strengthen the case for moving even more Whitehall jobs out of London, including the entire DfE, they’re even more damning because education is so integral to this country’s future economic success. As such, any Minister serious about levelling up will be seeking the ex-mandarin’s counsel in order to instigate changes to policy-making made even more urgent by Sir Gavin’s legacy of failure.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app, receive exclusive members-only offers and access to all premium content and columns. Click here to subscribe.