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Tory peer Lord Maude calls for more robust culture in Whitehall Dominic Raab's exit must not lower standards, says deputy PM
(about 9 hours later)
Lord Francis Maude raises the prospect of civil servants being able to have more open political affiliations Dominic Raab's replacement as deputy PM has insisted that ministers must be able to demand the "highest standards" from civil servants.
A Tory peer who is leading a government review of how the civil service operates has called for a more "robust culture" in Whitehall. Oliver Dowden said Mr Raab's exit after a bullying inquiry should not stop ministers holding officials to account.
It comes after the resignation of the former Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab over bullying claims. But he distanced himself from claims from Mr Raab that civil servants were frustrating the work of government.
Mr Raab stood down on Friday after an inquiry found he was "intimidating" and "aggressive" towards officials. And he admitted the process for dealing with complaints needed to be "fairer".
Mr Raab said the findings had set "a very dangerous precedent". Mr Raab stood down on Friday after a report written by lawyer Adam Tolley KC found he was "intimidating" and "aggressive" towards officials.
However, he hit out at the report's findings, saying they set "a very dangerous precedent" and would have a "chilling effect" on how minsters work.
He also claimed there was a risk "a very small minority" of officials "with a passive aggressive culture" were trying to block reforms they did not like.
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Asked about Mr Raab's comments on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Dowden said ministers had all "experienced frustrations" during their time working with officials in government.
But he told the show: "It has not been my experience working with civil servants that we can't work together in a constructive way. I haven't experienced that."
He added: "What I would not want to become the outcome of this is there is some kind of diminution in the ability of ministers to expect the highest standards".
He also said that the government wanted to look at the process for how officials can raise complaints about the behaviour or ministers, saying there was a need to make it "simpler, fairer and less complex".
'Robust culture'
Meanwhile, a Tory peer who is leading a government review of how the civil service operates has called for a more "robust culture" in Whitehall.
Writing in the Observer, Lord Francis Maude, a former Cabinet Office minister, raised the prospect of civil servants being able to have more open political affiliations.Writing in the Observer, Lord Francis Maude, a former Cabinet Office minister, raised the prospect of civil servants being able to have more open political affiliations.
Lord Maude said Mr Raab's resignation had raised important issues.
He said ministers have limited authority to put in place officials of their choice despite relying on them and being accountable for what they do.He said ministers have limited authority to put in place officials of their choice despite relying on them and being accountable for what they do.
He suggested that ministers could be given more say about appointments while preserving impartiality.He suggested that ministers could be given more say about appointments while preserving impartiality.
"The UK is now an outlier, and a better balance needs to be struck," he said. "The UK is now an outlier, and a better balance needs to be struck," he said, adding that without change, "there will be more cases like Raab's when frustrations boil over".
He said that other governments with similar systems, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, "manage it better than us".He said that other governments with similar systems, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, "manage it better than us".
Raab dismissed my behaviour warnings - ex-colleague "In France, permanent civil servants often have overt political affiliations, and it causes few problems," he added.
Dominic Raab bullying report's key findings
Losing Dominic Raab was a bad day for Rishi Sunak
He warned that without change, "there will be more cases like Raab's when frustrations boil over".
"We need a much more robust culture, with less groupthink, more rugged disagreement, and the confidence to both offer challenge and to accept it," he said.
"We also need to be more robust and less mealy-mouthed about 'politicisation'".
He said that other systems deal with this better. "In France, permanent civil servants often have overt political affiliations, and it causes few problems," he said.
Lord Maude said that without change there would be more cases like that of Mr RaabLord Maude said that without change there would be more cases like that of Mr Raab
"Without a much closer alignment between accountability and authority, we will see tensions build and relationships fracture. Mr Tolley's inquiry looked at eight formal complaints about Mr Raab's behaviour during his previous stints as justice secretary, foreign secretary and Brexit secretary.
"Our system can be made to work but it needs change - difficult and sustained change. And it needs to start soon."
After his resignation, Mr Raab hit out at what he described as some "activist" civil servants, saying such a low bar for bullying would have a chilling effect on government.
He said there was a risk "a very small minority" of officials "with a passive aggressive culture" were trying to block reforms they did not like.
Lord McDonald, who worked as Mr Raab's permanent secretary in the Foreign Office, said he dismissed repeated warnings about his behaviour.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wanted to learn from the complaints process highlighted in the inquiry, so similar matters were handled better in the future.
The inquiry by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC looked at eight formal complaints about Mr Raab's behaviour during his previous stints as justice secretary, foreign secretary and Brexit secretary.
His report concluded Mr Raab's conduct involved "an abuse or misuse of power", and that he "acted in a manner which was intimidating" and "persistently aggressive" towards officials.His report concluded Mr Raab's conduct involved "an abuse or misuse of power", and that he "acted in a manner which was intimidating" and "persistently aggressive" towards officials.
The FDA union, which represents civil servants, dismissed Mr Raab's comments that some officials were frustrating the work of government, accused him of peddling "dangerous conspiracy theories that undermine the impartiality and integrity of the civil service".
On Sunday the Liberal Democrats, who have already called on Mr Raab to step down as an MP, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should suspend him as a Conservative MP.
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