This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jun/19/civil-service-reform-politics-live

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 11 Version 12
Civil service reform plans unveiled: Politics live blog Civil service reform plans unveiled: Politics live blog
(7 days later)
4.50pm: Here's an afternoon summary. 9.00am: David Cameron is still at the G20 summit in Mexico and it sounds as if he's in a gloomy mood. As Patrick Wintour reports, yesterday Cameron was floating the idea of Britain having to seek fresh export markets outside the EU because he thinks the eurozone crisis is so intractable.
• Union leaders have said that the government's plans to cut the size of Whitehall will ensure that the civil service reform plans announced this afternoon do not benefit the public. Here's a statement from Paul Noon, general secretary of Prospect, the union representing civil service professionals.
/>It may be that the eurozone crisis is going to continue for some time, in which case the UK must do all it can to put its own house in order and link up with the fastest growing parts of the world.
What is planned for the government's own workforce is more of the same – pay and job cuts, once again without any indication of what tasks are to be shed or their impact on core skills. What does that mean? The UK joining Asean? Nice idea, but I doubt they'll have us.
The cuts are to be achieved by a human resources policy that takes it out on people who don't get on with their boss, which will only create a culture of fear and import into government the worst excesses of David Brent's The Office. Back in the UK, it's fairly quiet. The main event seems to be Francis Maude's civil service reform announcement. As Juliette Jowit and Nicholas Watt report, it will feature two key proposals.
This is not a vision of a professional civil service attuned to an economy in crisis or the technological needs of the 21st century. It is management by diktat and another nail in the coffin of the public service ethos. • All permanent secretaries in what are known as the main delivery departments, such as health and education, will be required to have had more than two years in a commercial or operational role. Maude, whose plans are based on a consultation process with staff across the country, is keen to provide opportunities to the 70% of civil servants outside Whitehall who do not fit into the Yes Minister policymaking mould.
And the PCS union said the plan involved "huge and unsustainable" job cuts. (See 4.20pm.) The unions spoke out after Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, unveiled his plans in the Commons. (See 4.09pm.) • A more rigorous appraisal system, which will identify the top 25% and the bottom 10%. The high performers will be recognised while the poor performers will be "tackled".
• David Anderson, the independent reviewer of anti-terror legislation, has said that plans to allow secret hearings in civil courts are "overkill". Giving evidence to the joint committee on human rights, he said the government's justice and security bill went too far. I'll be covering the announcement when we get it at 3.30pm.
It addresses what I consider to be a genuine problem, but it does so in a way which is disproportionate. I think there is an element of overkill, that I have no doubt will be the subject of debate. Here's the full agenda for the day.
• Labour has criticsed Jeremy Browne, the Foreign Office minister, for saying England has little chance of winning Euro 2012. (See 1.45pm.) Dick Caborn, the former sports minister, put out this statement. 9am: Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, attends the launch of the London 2012 Festival.
Lifelong football fans like George Osborne and David Cameron will be shocked by Jeremy Browne's comments. We know this government is cold on Europe, but by any standards this is taking it a bit far. 9.25am: Sarah Teather, the children's minister, speaks at the Early Years 2012 conference. As Patrick Wintour reports, the government is launching a government childcare commission that will look at lengthening the school day and allowing childcare workers to look after more children at any one time, in an attempt to cut costs for parents.
History suggests England only win tournaments with a Labour Government. And if the Government was fighting as hard for the country as the England team are on the pitch we'd be doing a lot better. 9.30am: Inflation figures for May are published.
A Downing Street spokeswoman defended Browne's comments, insisting: "He was just stating historical fact rather than passing judgment." 10am: Rail experts give evidence to the Commons transport committee
• Sean Worth, a No 10 adviser until last month, has told the Guardian the Conservatives are in danger of becoming permanently associated with slashing spending on schools, hospitals and other services instead of reforming them. 10am: Pension funds and investment managers give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about City pay.
• MPs have been told that pay expectations in the City remain wildly out of line with other sectors, despite efforts to tackle its reward culture. 10.15am: Jeremy Browne, the Foreign Office minister, gives evidence to the foreign affairs committee on human rights.
• It has emerged that Lord Justice Leveson considered holding an emergency hearing this week into reports he threatened to resign in late February after his inquiry was criticised by Michael Gove. 11am: David Nutt, the former chairman of the advisory council on the misuse of drugs, and other drugs experts give evidence to the Commons home affairs committee.
• A poll has revealed that most GP practices will open as usual on Thursday, when doctors are supposed to be taking industrial action. As the Press Association reports, a poll by Pulse magazine said only a quarter of practices across the UK have notified their primary care organisation that they will be taking part in the strike. Across 20 primary care organisations, 281 out of 1,265 practices have so far notified NHS managers they are taking action.
/>
/>• Ofcom has said that potential concentrations of media power should be subject to regular, formal reviews. 		11am: Nick Herbert, the policing minister, gives a speech on elected police commissioners.
That's it for today. Thanks for the comments. 1.50pm: David Anderson, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, gives evidence to the joint human rights committee on the justice and security bill.
4.20pm: Here is some reaction to the civil service reform plan. 3.30pm: Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, is expected to make a statement in the Commons about plans to reform the civil service.
• The PCS union says the plan is "built on sand" because jobs are being cut. At some point today Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary, is speaking at his union's annual conference.
The plan confirms the huge and unsustainable number of job cuts planned by this government, which means more use of the private sector, allowing profit margins to drive decisions about the provision of services instead of public need. As usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and another at about 4pm.
It will do nothing to address the major concerns of civil and public servants, that their jobs are being slashed, their pay is being cut and their pensions are being raided to pay off a deficit caused by the recession and bailing out the banks. If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow.
And instead of accepting that their political choices are making our economic situation worse and damaging the public services we all rely on, ministers appear to want to blame civil servants and claim that the answer is to cut the civil service down to record levels. And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog.
• The Institute for Government says it is a promising plan. The IfG has also published a detailed response (pdf).
/> 		9.07am: The BBC's Mark Easton says the governnment's response to the Dilnot report on social care has now been delayed until at least July. On his blog, he explains why the Treasury is so reluctant to accept the Dilnot plan.
It is a promising plan with some bold ideas, with the potential to achieve needed improvements. But all depends on the consistency, coherence and energy of implementation. Some statements show a serious appetite for reform. The plan is relevant to the whole of the civil service, not just the policy making elite. It addresses many key issues that reform must tackle. But it is early days. There are plenty of questions to answer before we can judge whether the reform ideas will be turned into actions that transform the civil service. The Institute for Government will follow up this initial response up with a detailed examination of many of the proposals. Whispers from Whitehall tell a story of agonising inside the Treasury - not only the question "Can we afford it?", but also asking "Is Dilnot's solution the right one?"
4.09pm: And here's a quote from Francis Maude about the plans. The commission's plan is for a cap on how much individuals must fork out before the state starts paying the bills. Recommending it be set at £35,000, the cost to the Treasury is put at around £1.7bn a year.
To succeed in the future we need a civil service that is faster, more flexible and more innovative – better able to deliver this government's ambitious programme of reforms to the public services on which we all rely. Because of the size of the deficit we inherited in 2010 our civil service is smaller today than at any time since the second world war. This has highlighted where there are weaknesses and strengthened the need to tackle them. But with a second round of deep public sector cuts in the offing, the question being asked is whether the government can really agree to spend close to another couple of billion on subsidising residential care costs for people who may be relatively affluent in terms of property ...
We need to build capabilities and address missing skills, embrace new ways of delivering services – for example through mutuals – and do more digitally. To improve decision making we need better management information and greater accountability. And we are responding to the concerns of civil servants by transforming performance management and career development in what will be a more corporate civil service. Treasury officials have been looking at whether the money could be found from cuts to other services currently provided to the same group. Should winter fuel allowance and free TV licences be means tested? What about the state pension? For the moment, it seems the politics and economics of such moves cannot be made to add up.
4.04pm: There is a summary of the civil service reform proposals on the civil service website. Easton's blog also includes the "Barnet graph of doom" - a graph doing the rounds in Whitehall, apparently, showing that "unless things change dramatically, within 20 years Barnet Council will be 'unable to provide any services except adult social care and children's services: no libraries, no parks, no leisure centres - not even bin collections'."
/>
/>Andy Burnham (pictured), the shadow health secretary, was talking about this on the Today programme this morning. There are cross-party talks on social care underway and Burnham offered to suspend "politics as usual" to enable these talks to succeed.
And here's the full 31-page reform plan (pdf). It's for the government to set forward the options as they see it, but without political courage there is no progress, and the offer I would make today to the Government is almost to suspend politics as usual – to give them the space to bring forward some difficult options without the usual point scoring.
Here's a summary of the proposals from the Cabinet Office (in their words, not mine). But Burnham could not resist a tiny bit of point scoring himself. He said he would not comment in detail on how the cross-party talks were going. However, he also made it quite clear that he thought Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, was not handling them very well.

/>• More rigorous performance management: Performance management will be strengthened by standardising competency frameworks across Government and implementing a tougher appraisal system which, for the SCS, identifies the top 25% and the bottom 10%. Good performance will be recognised and poor performance tackled. Civil servants have told us they are frustrated by a culture where exceptional performance is not sufficiently recognised and under-performance is not addressed. 		I have some concerns about the way the government has approached the talks, but I don't want to go into those details today, because I want those talks to succeed. We have met, and there's been exchange of information between the parties. It is going on – it's not happening anything like as urgently or as quickly as I would like to see.
• Strengthening capability: By autumn we will have a cross-Civil Service capabilities plan that identifies what skills are missing and how gaps will be filled. For the first time talent will be deployed corporately – so people with the right skills in departments can be matched to the greatest corporate need. With more services commissioned from outside, there is a serious lack of commissioning, contracting and digital skills. I've taken the quotes from PoliticsHome.
• Unified Civil Service: There will be a more unified approach to developing talent and building capacity across the Civil Service. Shared services will become the norm to ensure that there is a consistently high quality service available to every Department. 9.29am: There are two polls around this morning. Here are the figures.
• New ways of delivering services: By autumn the Cabinet Office will have completed a review with departments to see what further examples of change in delivery models can be implemented this Parliament. The old binary choice between the monolithic in-house provision and full-scale privatisation has been replaced by a number of new ways of delivering services, including mutuals. Digital by default needs to become a reality.
/>
/>• Creating a modern employment offer for staff: The Civil Service will be a good, modern employer and continue to be among the best employers in the country. Departments will undertake a review of terms and conditions to identify those beyond what a good, modern employer would provide. We will also take actions to ensure staff get the IT and security training they've been asking for so they can do their jobs properly. 		YouGov for the Sun
/>
/>Labour: 44% (no change from YouGov in the Sunday Times)
/>Conservatives: 33% (up 1)
/>Ukip: 8% (no change)
/>Lib Dems: 7% (down 2)
• Open policy making: a new presumption in favour of open policy making, with policy developed on the basis of the widest possible engagement with external experts and those who will have the task of delivering the policy once announced. Labour lead: 11 points
3.54pm: Maude is replying to Trickett. Government approval: -39 (no change)
He says he is very concerned about the danger of cronyism. That is why the new procedures will be overseen by the civil service commission. Populus in the Times (paywall)
He says he does not assume that bringing in the private sector is always the best solution. Labour: 41% (no change since Populus for the Times in May)
/>Conservatives: 33% (no change)
/>Lib Dems: 9% (down 1)
On regional pay, he says the only moves towards this took place under Labour. The Ministry of Justice introduced an element of regional pay. This government won't take it any further unless there is strong evidence to support it, he says. Labour lead: 8 points
3.48pm: Jon Trickett, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, is responding. 9.46am: Here's the top of the Press Association story about the inflation figures.
He says there has been a collapse in morale over the last two years. The rate of inflation unexpectedly fell to a two-and-a-half-year low last month as declining oil prices started to filter through to the petrol pumps.
/>The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation dropped to 2.8% in May, from 3% in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, the lowest level since November 2009. City analysts expected the rate to remain unchanged.
/>The decline was driven by a sharp drop in petrol pump prices, as the average petrol price fell by 4.5p per litre between April and May to stand at 137.1p. Last year, the average petrol price rose 2p to 136.3p.
/>Inflation has fallen from 5.2% last September due to the waning impact of the VAT hike at the start of 2011 and falling energy, food and commodity prices, easing pressure on squeezed household incomes.
/>Despite today's fall, inflation has still not pulled back as quickly as the Bank of England initially expected, after fears over increasing tensions between the West and Iran pushed oil prices higher in March.
/>But the cost of crude oil has fallen since then and May's inflation figures show that this is starting to benefit consumers.
/>Average diesel prices also decreased, dropping 4.4p to 143.3p between April and May, compared with a 0.7p rise last year to 141.5p.
/>The fall in inflation in May is likely to bolster the case for the Bank to pump more emergency cash into the economy through its quantitative easing programme, as the eurozone crisis escalates and threatens to destabilise the UK economy.
/>Britain's economy entered a technical recession in the first quarter of the year as gross domestic product declined 0.2%, following a 0.3% drop in the final quarter of 2011.
/>Last month, inflation moved to within 1% of the Government's 2% target, meaning Bank Governor Sir Mervyn King did not have to send a letter of explanation to the Chancellor.
/>A Treasury spokesman said: "Inflation is out of Open Letter territory for the second month in a row, which is good news and is providing some welcome relief for family budgets."
He says he particularly welcomes the plans to extend the digital delivery of services.
/>
/>Here's the Office for National Statistics release with the headline figures. And here's the ONS statistical bulletin, with the full details (pdf).
He asks Maude to confirm that he does not think that the private sector is always superior to the public sector. 9.58am: And while we're on the subject of polls, Ipsos MORI have got an interesting one from Scotland. Here's an extract from their news release.
He asks what consultation there has been on plans to sack the 10% worst performers. Three weeks after the 'Yes' campaign was launched, support for Scottish independence has fallen in our latest poll for The Times and The Sun.
He asks if the government is still committed to regional pay. Among those certain to vote in the referendum, 35% agree that 'Scotland should be an independent country' while 55% disagree and 11% are undecided. This represents a fall of 4 points in support for independence compared to our previous poll in January 2012, while support for staying in the union has risen by 5 points over the same period.
And he asks if there will be a "rise in cronyism" as a result of the plans. This means the anti-independence lobby is now 20 points ahead - up from an 11 point lead in January.
3.44pm: Maude is still speaking. 10.26am: If you read the Guardian's exclusive story today about almost seven million people living in extreme financial stress, do check out Patrick Butler's Breadline Britain live blog. He's hosting a live Q&A about the report later and he's inviting readers to post comments about their own experience of living on the breadline.
There are some deficiences in capabilities, he says. 10.39am: Do you know what Serbia's new president looks like?
Civil servants will need more financial knowledge. No, nor did I, so I have some sympathy for Lady Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, who has been caught on camera asking aides to help her identify Tomislav Nikolic.
There is also a policy skills gap, he says. 11.06am: Last night the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, Steve Rotheram, won MP speech of the year in the PoliticsHome awards for the speech he gave on the Hillsborough tragedy. You can read the full text of the speech here.
By the autumn a capabilities plan will be in place saying what skills are missing. 11.12am: Professor Cathy Nutbrown has now published the final report from the review of early education and childcare that she has been carrying out for the government. The full 82-page report is here (pdf).
Staff say manager lack leadership skills. In future, leadership will be taught. In a speech at an early years conference this morning, Nutbrown summarised her recommendations. Here's an extract.
Permanent secretaries will in future have to have spent at least two years in an operational role.
/>We need a clear, rigorous system of qualifications in place to ensure a competent and confident workforce. As I have said there are far too many qualifications, they don't equip students with the necessary skills and the system is confusing. In response I recommend the content of qualifications be changed to strengthen and include more on child development and play, special educational needs and disability, and inclusivity and diversity. More importantly the qualifications must focus on the birth to 7 age range. Level 3 must become the minimum standard for the workforce. This means all staff, who work to the EYFS framework, including childminders should be qualified at a minimum level 3 by September 2022, with some staging of posts in the interim.
In the future there will be more appraisals. Those in the bottom 10% will have to show real improvement if they expect to stay. It is crucial that we raise expectations of the workforce so that we attract the best people – quality staff make a difference. When I published my interim the press heavily focused on my view of literacy and numeracy skills amongst staff caring and educating our babies and young children. These skills are essential: to develop professional knowledge; to communicate effectively with parents; to carry out observations or assessments, to read stories to children and to support children's early language development. This reinforces my argument for the importance of quality and why I am recommending students must have a level 2 in English and mathematics upon entry to a level 3 early education or childcare course.
Policy making will be opened up. In future, open policy making will become the default.
/>Sarah Teather, the children's minister, said she welcomed the "thoughtful and thorough" report.
A small fund will pilot policy making from outside Whitehall, he says. It takes a careful and measured look at the sector, and will be very useful in helping us to shape the future of the early years workforce. We need to attract bright people to the sector so that our young children get the best possible start in life - after all, they only get one chance.
Maude says none of the actions in the plan are dramatic. But, taken together, they will produce real change. 11.39am: You can read all today's Guardian politics stories here. And all the politics stories filed yesterday, including some in today's paper, are here.
Change is essential if the civil service is to meet the challenges of a fast-changing world, he says. As for the rest of the papers, here are some stories and articles that are particularly interesting.
3.40pm: Maude is still speaking. • Alexi Mostrous in the Times (paywall) says a Times investigation has established that "thousands of wealthy people in Britain pay as little as 1 per cent income tax using 'below the radar' accounting methods, part of a tax avoidance industry that costs the country billions of pounds".
He says there are 500,000 people in the civil service. That will go down to 380,000. In March, the Chancellor George Osborne used the Budget to condemn aggressive tax avoidance as "morally repugnant". Yet on the following day, Roy Lyness, of Peak Performance Accountants, which runs the K2 scheme, assured his clients: "We're delighted to inform you that most of the powerful tax-saving opportunities survived unscathed."
In the future it will become normal for departments to share services. Posing as an IT consultant earning £280,000 a year, a Times reporter contacted a number of avoidance specialists offering schemes to people on salaries above £100,000. Mr Lyness promised that K2 could slash a hypothetical tax bill of £127,000 to just £3,500, equivalent to a personal income tax rate of 1.25 per cent.
Providing services digitally will be the norm. "It's a game of cat and mouse," he said. "The Revenue closes one scheme, we find another way round it.
There will also be more mutuals, he says. "It's like a sat-nav. I'm driving to Manchester, get a message saying there's a smash at Stoke, press this button to re-route. That's all we do with tax avoidance. The Revenue puts a block in, we just go round the block."
Management layers will be cut. At most there will be eight layers between the top and the front line, and often there will be fewer, he says. • Mary Riddell in the Daily Telegraph says Ed Miliband wants to establish himself as an international political figure.
Accountability will be sharper. At the moment management information in government is poor. By October a robust cross-government management information system will be in place. This will enable civil servants to be held to account. Since Mr Miliband must form an alternative to the Coalition, not the Westminster branch of the WI, he has unveiled a plan for an anti-austerity alliance in Europe ...
Former accounting officers will, if necessarily, be called back to give evidence to the public accounts committee. Billed as "a small gathering, not a bunfest", the inaugural meeting is likely to take place in Paris after the party conference season, and the invitees will probably include Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, Angela Merkel's social democrat challenger, Sigmar Gabriel, and southern European players. Mr Miliband's advisers are also watching to see whether the G20 opens a chasm between Merkel and Cameron on one side and Hollande on the other, backed by an Obama who is exasperated by European dithering and keen to engineer a sharper divide with his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.
The civil service commission will be consulted on how secretaries of state can have more say in the appointment of permanent secretaries. Under the current system, they are normally only given one name to approve. Having made some headway (though not yet enough) in outlining the society he envisages for straitened times, Mr Miliband now hopes to establish himself as an international actor and an unashamed European. "Ed has got to be totally clear that we believe that the future of Britain is best in Europe," says one senior Labour figure.
3.37pm: Francis Maude says he is setting out the first stage in a practical programme for reform.
/>
/>• James Kirkup and Thomas Harding in the Daily Telegraph say the government is delaying the age at which members of the armed forces can qualify for a pension.
The civil service has to be faster, more flexible, more innovative and more accountable, he says. Armed Forces personnel face having to serve for another five years before qualifying for their pensions, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
The civil service is smaller than it has been. That has highlighted weaknesses. Soldiers, sailors and airmen may have to give as much as 23 years' service before being able to leave with their pensions, up from as little as 18 years at present.
It needs to be more digital, and to use date more effectively. The result would be that the effective minimum age for leaving the Services with an immediate pension would increase from 40 to 45.
A civil service reform plan is being published. The plan, disclosed in a Ministry of Defence document, has emerged amid complaints from soldiers that they have been targets for redundancy days before qualifying for their pension. Many soldiers claimed they were sacked and denied an immediate pension, in some cases after the MoD miscalculated the length of their service.
These plans will deliver "real change", he says. • Sophie Borland in the Daily Mail says doctors who go "on strike" on Thursday will still be paid.
It is not an attack on civil servants. Civil servants themselves want change. Many of them are "deeply frustrated" by a culture that is risk-adverse. Health trusts have decided not to dock salaries even though the GPs will refuse to treat almost all their patients.
Civil servants were consulted, and their ideas fed into the reform plan. They claim that a day's pay – £430 to a typical GP on £110,000 a year – is merited because urgent cases will still be dealt with.
Maude says he wants this to be "change that lasts". Ministers in the last government were consulted. • Melanie Newman and Oliver Wright in the Independent say Lord Fink, the Conservative treasurer, has been criticised for agreeing to host a dinner in the Lords that would have broken anti-sleaze rules. Fink cancelled the booking before it went ahead.
In the future the civil service will be flatter, more digital and more accountable. It will also be more satisfying to work for. • James Lyons in the Daily Mirror says Tory MP Nadine Dorries is using parliamentary allowances to pay her daughter more than £35,000 to work as her office manager.
3.36pm: Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, is making his civil service statement now. • Gordon Rayner in the Daily Telegraph says journalists at the News of the World allegedly hacked the emails of a witness in the Tommy Sheridan trial.
3.35pm: The Daily Mail's Tim Shipman has got a good line on the Jeremy Browne story. (See 1.45pm.) 12.09pm: David Cameron will not be watching England's Euro 2012 match against Ukraine tonight, according to Downing Street. He will be in a G20 session on development, green growth, infrastructure and food security instead.
Labour source on Jeremy Browne football gaffe: 'Just because he's a Foreign Office minister doesn't mean he has to support the foreigners.' 12.11pm: Len McCluskey (pictured), the Unite general secretary, has urged Boris Johnson, the London mayor, to intervene in the London bus dispute. On Friday drivers in London are due to strike in support of their demand for a £500 bonus for working during the Olympic Games. In a letter to Jonson, McCluskey said the mayor's refusal to intervene was politically motivated.
— Tim Shipman (Mail) (@ShippersUnbound) June 19, 2012 It is inexplicable that the bus operators, acting as one, Transport for London (TfL) and you personally have so far refused to engage in any discussion on this matter with Unite.
3.20pm: Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, will make his civil service reform statement shortly. As background, here's a short reading list. We are now left with no option but to conclude that the stance you are taking is politically motivated and that the success of the London Games is now being put in jeopardy as a consequence of you and your party's desire to 'take on Unite' following your earlier failed attempt to do so involving our tanker drivers. This is a truly reprehensible and irresponsible action.
• Juliette Jowit and Nicholas Watt in the Guardian preview what the announcement will say. I make this final call to you to engage personally in assisting TfL and the bus-operating companies in finding a just settlement to this matter, as the mayor of our city, chair of Transport for London and our host for the games.

/>• Nick Pearce at the IPPR blog says the reforms will not amount to much unless they tackle the issue of accountability. 		The eyes of the world are upon us and as the Games draw closer, the questions as to why we are in this position and who is responsible will come into sharper focus.

/>So we come to the big issue that these reforms appear to leave untouched: accountability. The civil service is the last remaining institution of British public life that is accountable to no-one but itself. Ministers are held to account for everything that happens in their departments, but cannot hire and fire their civil servants. Aside from permanent secretaries, senior civil servants do not have to report to parliament for their actions. This is what lies at the heart of the dispute between Margaret Hodge, chair of the powerful public accounts committee, and the former cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell. 		12.21pm: Ahead of this afternoon's announcement on civil service reform, the CBI has sent out a report saying government departments and local councils should share back-office functions. Matthew Fell, the CBI director for competitive markets, says this would save money.
The best way forward would be to more clearly distinguish between ministerial responsibility for policy and resources, and officials' responsibility for delivery and administration. This would redress the governance vacuum at the heart of Whitehall, overturning the now anachronistic convention that ministers must be solely accountable to parliament for their departmental business. All senior civil servants (grade 5 and above) would then appear before select committees, if called. Permanent secretaries could be directly performance managed on fixed-term contracts. At a time when budget savings have to be made, central government must standardise the sharing of back office services, like ICT and HR functions, which can deliver both better value and maintain or improve quality. To achieve this, the Cabinet Office needs to direct all government departments not already doing so to sign up to existing shared services arrangements in the short term and set out detailed plans to establish independent shared service centres to cater for the whole civil service in the future.
Unless the accountability question is tackled, reform of the civil service will remain a piecemeal affair. 12.39pm: Yesterday Labour unveiled the names of its 41 police commissioner candidates for the elections being held in November. Seven former ministers are standing.
• Andrew Haldenby at the Telegraph says the Maude reforms are likely to be a disappointment. But, according to a poll commissioned by the Policy Exchange thinktank, voters do not want former politicians in these roles. Here's what the Press Association has filed on the study.
Francis Maude is about to release a new White Paper on Civil Service reform. It looks like it will be a mouse, when it needs to be a lion. Politicians would make the worst police commissioners, a new poll suggests.
/>According to the study, most voters believe ex-police officers would be the best candidates for the controversial roles.
/>Former MPs and councillors were deemed to be least suitable for taking on one of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) posts.
/>The poll for the Policy Exchange think-tank showed that fewer than one in 10 people feel these applicants would be the strongest contenders.
/>Blair Gibbs, head of Policy Exchange's Crime and Justice Unit, said political parties need to give applicants careful consideration.
/>He said: "Voters will value relevant experience over a political CV and are looking to back candidates who speak to their concerns about local crime and disorder and the need to support visible, neighbourhood policing."
/>The YouGov poll revealed 59% of voters ranked former police officers as their preferred candidates.
/>Nearly 30% of those consulted felt ordinary people with an interest in policing issues would make the best PCCs, while 26% of those polled would choose someone from a military background.
/>Some 13% of people backed candidates from a business background, while only 6% said they would opt for former government ministers, senior politicians and MPs.
According to various reports, some Cabinet Ministers such as Michael Gove and Theresa May have pushed for a real reform package, which would allow them to appoint senior civil servants on fixed-term contracts. That would indeed put Whitehall on a new and much better footing. Instead the paper will leave the flawed structures of Whitehall in place and do no more than propose some minor variations on a theme. Given the importance of the subject and the potential cross-party support for radical reform, this is a significant disappointment.

• The Guardian's Public Leaders' Network is holding a Q&A about the plans later this week.
• Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the civil service, welcomes the plans on Twitter.

Important announcement today by Francis Maude on Civil Service Reform. This is a good plan that civil servants can and should get behind.
3.10pm: Here's a short afternoon reading list.
• David Clark at Shifting Grounds says the row about Progress's role in the Labour party has illustrated quite how bad the party's relationship with the unions has become.
The row over Progress has highlighted a deep reserve of pent-up union grievance that Labour must now address. Paul Kenny's speech to the GMB is moving testimony to just how abusive the union-Labour relationship has become in the recent years. The unions have basically been treated as cash-cows to be milked repeatedly before being put out to graze once again. Understandably, they have had enough. Progress has become the target of their frustrations, but the problem is one the party as a whole will have to deal with.


• Paul Goodman at ConservativeHome says Tory cabinet ministers seem to be siding with Boris Johnson, who thinks a eurozone fiscal union is doomed to fail, against David Cameron, who thinks it could work.
2.41pm: According to the Press Association, Lord Justice Leveson considered holding a special hearing this week to respond to the Mail on Sunday story claiming that he threatened to quit after Michael Gove criticised his inquiry.
Here's the top of the PA story.
The judge leading the investigation into media ethics will give his public reaction next week to a newspaper report that a minister's intervention nearly made him quit.
Lord Justice Leveson was sufficiently concerned about the Mail on Sunday article that he considered convening a special hearing of the inquiry, which is not sitting next week.
That move was dropped following consideration of the cost of an emergency recall to taxpayers and other participants, a spokesman indicated.
But he has written to designated "core participants" to the review, set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, inviting comments and pledging to deal with the issue on Monday.
In the article, the inquiry chairman was said to asked the country's most powerful civil servant to gag Education Secretary Michael Gove.
Update at 2.49pm: Actually, I see that Guido Fawkes had the story first.
1.45pm: Here's a lunchtime summary.1.45pm: Here's a lunchtime summary.
• Inflation has slipped to its lowest level in two and a half years, in a rare piece of good news for Britain's recession-hit households.• Inflation has slipped to its lowest level in two and a half years, in a rare piece of good news for Britain's recession-hit households.
• The National Union of Teachers has said that the government review of childcare affordability announced today seems to be about cutting costs. Christine Blower, the NUT general secretary, put out this statement.• The National Union of Teachers has said that the government review of childcare affordability announced today seems to be about cutting costs. Christine Blower, the NUT general secretary, put out this statement.
The new government childcare commission appears to be more about cutting costs than any real determination to improve childcare. Education in early years, as in the rest of the sector, cannot be achieved on the cheap. This government has already done a great deal of damage to pupils' well being and access to education with cuts to free school meals, the education maintenance allowance, music and school sports as well as local authority support services.The new government childcare commission appears to be more about cutting costs than any real determination to improve childcare. Education in early years, as in the rest of the sector, cannot be achieved on the cheap. This government has already done a great deal of damage to pupils' well being and access to education with cuts to free school meals, the education maintenance allowance, music and school sports as well as local authority support services.
David Cameron needs to be clear what is meant by schools being open from 8am to 8pm. Many schools already operate breakfast and after school clubs which are run by staff from outside of the school. Opening schools during the holidays and at weekends for use by the local community again is not a new idea. However after school activities are only beneficial if they are affordable.David Cameron needs to be clear what is meant by schools being open from 8am to 8pm. Many schools already operate breakfast and after school clubs which are run by staff from outside of the school. Opening schools during the holidays and at weekends for use by the local community again is not a new idea. However after school activities are only beneficial if they are affordable.
But Elizabeth Truss, a Conservative MP who published a report on this recently, said childcare could be made more affordable by changing adult/child ratios.But Elizabeth Truss, a Conservative MP who published a report on this recently, said childcare could be made more affordable by changing adult/child ratios.
• The Work Foundation has accused the government of having a "fragmented" and "piecemeal" approach to tackling youth unemployment. • The Work Foundation has accused the government of having a "fragmented" and "piecemeal" approach to tackling youth unemployment.
• Bob Holman, the community activist credited with opening Iain Duncan Smith's eyes to poverty and inspiring him to embrace compassionate conservatism, has said he should resign.• Bob Holman, the community activist credited with opening Iain Duncan Smith's eyes to poverty and inspiring him to embrace compassionate conservatism, has said he should resign.
• Conservative MPs are meeting today to discuss how to oppose the government's plans for Lords reform, the BBC has revealed. James Landale also says that Labour have not decided whether to support Tory rebels who try to block the bill's timetable motion.• Conservative MPs are meeting today to discuss how to oppose the government's plans for Lords reform, the BBC has revealed. James Landale also says that Labour have not decided whether to support Tory rebels who try to block the bill's timetable motion.

The opponents will only be able to defeat the government on this procedure motion if Labour backs them. And there are signs Labour is rowing back from its plans to give the bill a rough ride. Party sources had indicated last month that they would oppose the bill's timetable but they now insist that no decision has been made.
The opponents will only be able to defeat the government on this procedure motion if Labour backs them. And there are signs Labour is rowing back from its plans to give the bill a rough ride. Party sources had indicated last month that they would oppose the bill's timetable but they now insist that no decision has been made.
A Labour spokesman said: "This is very premature speculation. No decisions have been made, no bill has been published, and it has not yet been discussed at shadow cabinet" ...A Labour spokesman said: "This is very premature speculation. No decisions have been made, no bill has been published, and it has not yet been discussed at shadow cabinet" ...
Some Labour MPs fear that opposing the timetable would make the party look opportunistic and go against what they say are Ed Miliband's reforming instincts. They also want to avoid an all-out war with Liberal Democrats with whom they might want to form a coalition after the next election.Some Labour MPs fear that opposing the timetable would make the party look opportunistic and go against what they say are Ed Miliband's reforming instincts. They also want to avoid an all-out war with Liberal Democrats with whom they might want to form a coalition after the next election.
One senior Labour source said: "Ed's instincts are not to play silly buggers on this. He does support reform. But tactical considerations will grow stronger as the number of Tory rebels increase."One senior Labour source said: "Ed's instincts are not to play silly buggers on this. He does support reform. But tactical considerations will grow stronger as the number of Tory rebels increase."


• Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has said that people who use tax avoidance loopholes are "the moral equivalent of benefit cheats". Speaking about a tax avoidance scheme highlighted in a Times investigation (see 11.39am), he said it was being investigated.

• Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has said that people who use tax avoidance loopholes are "the moral equivalent of benefit cheats". Speaking about a tax avoidance scheme highlighted in a Times investigation (see 11.39am), he said it was being investigated.
HMRC are looking at the particular scheme that's reported in The Times today with a view to either shutting it down or getting the money back in some other way. Let's be very clear; at a time of real economic difficulty for our country, it is vitally important that everyone pays their fair share of tax. People who dodge the tax system are the moral equivalent of benefit cheats and we are coming to get them.HMRC are looking at the particular scheme that's reported in The Times today with a view to either shutting it down or getting the money back in some other way. Let's be very clear; at a time of real economic difficulty for our country, it is vitally important that everyone pays their fair share of tax. People who dodge the tax system are the moral equivalent of benefit cheats and we are coming to get them.
• David Nutt, the former chairman of the advisory council on the misuse of drugs,, has told MPs that drug use and possession should be decriminalised.• David Nutt, the former chairman of the advisory council on the misuse of drugs,, has told MPs that drug use and possession should be decriminalised.
If society decides it allows people to market the drug alcohol, then if people want to make the rational decision to use a drug that is less toxic than alcohol then they should be able to do so.If society decides it allows people to market the drug alcohol, then if people want to make the rational decision to use a drug that is less toxic than alcohol then they should be able to do so.
• Downing Street has refused to confirm that the government's white paper on adult social care will be published before the summer recess. Originally it was meant to be published in the spring. Responding to a BBC report saying that it will delayed until at least July, Downing Street would only say that it would be published "within the coming months". Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, has offered to suspend "politics as usual" to help the government achieve cross-party consensus on the issue. (See 9.07am.)• Downing Street has refused to confirm that the government's white paper on adult social care will be published before the summer recess. Originally it was meant to be published in the spring. Responding to a BBC report saying that it will delayed until at least July, Downing Street would only say that it would be published "within the coming months". Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, has offered to suspend "politics as usual" to help the government achieve cross-party consensus on the issue. (See 9.07am.)
• Jeremy Browne, the Foreign Office minister, has suggested that England is unlikely to win the Euro 2012 championships. Giving evidence to the foreign affairs committee, he said England's poor chances partly explained why the government ministers were not attending the group stages as a protest against Ukraine's human rights record but not ruling out attending if England made it to the final. Browne was replying to a Scottish MP, Frank Roy, who suggested this was inconsistent.• Jeremy Browne, the Foreign Office minister, has suggested that England is unlikely to win the Euro 2012 championships. Giving evidence to the foreign affairs committee, he said England's poor chances partly explained why the government ministers were not attending the group stages as a protest against Ukraine's human rights record but not ruling out attending if England made it to the final. Browne was replying to a Scottish MP, Frank Roy, who suggested this was inconsistent.
I only observe that the only time that England have ever reached an international tournament final was when it was held in England. So these difficulties did not arise ... I am delighted that you think they may do in two weeks' time. But history suggests that we are dealing in hypotheticals here.I only observe that the only time that England have ever reached an international tournament final was when it was held in England. So these difficulties did not arise ... I am delighted that you think they may do in two weeks' time. But history suggests that we are dealing in hypotheticals here.
• Sir Roy McNulty, who conducted an inquiry into the rail industry for the government, has told MPs that passengers and taxpayers are not getting a good deal from the railways.• Sir Roy McNulty, who conducted an inquiry into the rail industry for the government, has told MPs that passengers and taxpayers are not getting a good deal from the railways.
• A poll has been published suggesting that voters think former police officers, not former politicians, will make the best police commissioners. (See 12.39pm.)• A poll has been published suggesting that voters think former police officers, not former politicians, will make the best police commissioners. (See 12.39pm.)
• The Scottish government has said that it will hold talks with the Westminster government about providing water to the south east of England. As the Press Association reports, Scottish infrastructure and capital investment secretary Alex Neil wrote to the UK government in March, offering help with water supply in the long-term, if this could be both commercially and practically viable. At a conference in Edinburgh today Neil said talks would go ahead.• The Scottish government has said that it will hold talks with the Westminster government about providing water to the south east of England. As the Press Association reports, Scottish infrastructure and capital investment secretary Alex Neil wrote to the UK government in March, offering help with water supply in the long-term, if this could be both commercially and practically viable. At a conference in Edinburgh today Neil said talks would go ahead.
Of course, we readily acknowledge there are massive logistical issues and there will need to be major developments to ensure the transfer of water is commercially viable. But this is a government that thinks long-term and our hydro nation agenda is ambitious and offers huge opportunities in this area.Of course, we readily acknowledge there are massive logistical issues and there will need to be major developments to ensure the transfer of water is commercially viable. But this is a government that thinks long-term and our hydro nation agenda is ambitious and offers huge opportunities in this area.
• Eleanor Smith, the Unison president, has accused David Cameron of leading "a government hell-bent on bringing discord, disharmony, doubt and despair to ordinary people, their families and their communities" in her speech to the Unison conference.• Eleanor Smith, the Unison president, has accused David Cameron of leading "a government hell-bent on bringing discord, disharmony, doubt and despair to ordinary people, their families and their communities" in her speech to the Unison conference.
12.39pm: Yesterday Labour unveiled the names of its 41 police commissioner candidates for the elections being held in November. Seven former ministers are standing. 2.41pm: According to the Press Association, Lord Justice Leveson considered holding a special hearing this week to respond to the Mail on Sunday story claiming that he threatened to quit after Michael Gove criticised his inquiry.
But, according to a poll commissioned by the Policy Exchange thinktank, voters do not want former politicians in these roles. Here's what the Press Association has filed on the study. Here's the top of the PA story.
Politicians would make the worst police commissioners, a new poll suggests.
/>According to the study, most voters believe ex-police officers would be the best candidates for the controversial roles.
/>Former MPs and councillors were deemed to be least suitable for taking on one of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) posts.
/>The poll for the Policy Exchange think-tank showed that fewer than one in 10 people feel these applicants would be the strongest contenders.
/>Blair Gibbs, head of Policy Exchange's Crime and Justice Unit, said political parties need to give applicants careful consideration.
/>He said: "Voters will value relevant experience over a political CV and are looking to back candidates who speak to their concerns about local crime and disorder and the need to support visible, neighbourhood policing."
/>The YouGov poll revealed 59% of voters ranked former police officers as their preferred candidates.
/>Nearly 30% of those consulted felt ordinary people with an interest in policing issues would make the best PCCs, while 26% of those polled would choose someone from a military background.
/>Some 13% of people backed candidates from a business background, while only 6% said they would opt for former government ministers, senior politicians and MPs. 		The judge leading the investigation into media ethics will give his public reaction next week to a newspaper report that a minister's intervention nearly made him quit.
/>Lord Justice Leveson was sufficiently concerned about the Mail on Sunday article that he considered convening a special hearing of the inquiry, which is not sitting next week.
/>That move was dropped following consideration of the cost of an emergency recall to taxpayers and other participants, a spokesman indicated.
/>But he has written to designated "core participants" to the review, set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, inviting comments and pledging to deal with the issue on Monday.
/>In the article, the inquiry chairman was said to asked the country's most powerful civil servant to gag Education Secretary Michael Gove.
12.21pm: Ahead of this afternoon's announcement on civil service reform, the CBI has sent out a report saying government departments and local councils should share back-office functions. Matthew Fell, the CBI director for competitive markets, says this would save money. Update at 2.49pm: Actually, I see that Guido Fawkes had the story first.
At a time when budget savings have to be made, central government must standardise the sharing of back office services, like ICT and HR functions, which can deliver both better value and maintain or improve quality. To achieve this, the Cabinet Office needs to direct all government departments not already doing so to sign up to existing shared services arrangements in the short term and set out detailed plans to establish independent shared service centres to cater for the whole civil service in the future. 3.10pm: Here's a short afternoon reading list.
12.11pm: Len McCluskey (pictured), the Unite general secretary, has urged Boris Johnson, the London mayor, to intervene in the London bus dispute. On Friday drivers in London are due to strike in support of their demand for a £500 bonus for working during the Olympic Games. In a letter to Jonson, McCluskey said the mayor's refusal to intervene was politically motivated. • David Clark at Shifting Grounds says the row about Progress's role in the Labour party has illustrated quite how bad the party's relationship with the unions has become.
It is inexplicable that the bus operators, acting as one, Transport for London (TfL) and you personally have so far refused to engage in any discussion on this matter with Unite. The row over Progress has highlighted a deep reserve of pent-up union grievance that Labour must now address. Paul Kenny's speech to the GMB is moving testimony to just how abusive the union-Labour relationship has become in the recent years. The unions have basically been treated as cash-cows to be milked repeatedly before being put out to graze once again. Understandably, they have had enough. Progress has become the target of their frustrations, but the problem is one the party as a whole will have to deal with.
We are now left with no option but to conclude that the stance you are taking is politically motivated and that the success of the London Games is now being put in jeopardy as a consequence of you and your party's desire to 'take on Unite' following your earlier failed attempt to do so involving our tanker drivers. This is a truly reprehensible and irresponsible action.
/>
/>• Paul Goodman at ConservativeHome says Tory cabinet ministers seem to be siding with Boris Johnson, who thinks a eurozone fiscal union is doomed to fail, against David Cameron, who thinks it could work.
I make this final call to you to engage personally in assisting TfL and the bus-operating companies in finding a just settlement to this matter, as the mayor of our city, chair of Transport for London and our host for the games. 3.20pm: Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, will make his civil service reform statement shortly. As background, here's a short reading list.
The eyes of the world are upon us and as the Games draw closer, the questions as to why we are in this position and who is responsible will come into sharper focus. • Juliette Jowit and Nicholas Watt in the Guardian preview what the announcement will say.
12.09pm: David Cameron will not be watching England's Euro 2012 match against Ukraine tonight, according to Downing Street. He will be in a G20 session on development, green growth, infrastructure and food security instead.
/>• Nick Pearce at the IPPR blog says the reforms will not amount to much unless they tackle the issue of accountability.
11.39am: You can read all today's Guardian politics stories here. And all the politics stories filed yesterday, including some in today's paper, are here.
/>So we come to the big issue that these reforms appear to leave untouched: accountability. The civil service is the last remaining institution of British public life that is accountable to no-one but itself. Ministers are held to account for everything that happens in their departments, but cannot hire and fire their civil servants. Aside from permanent secretaries, senior civil servants do not have to report to parliament for their actions. This is what lies at the heart of the dispute between Margaret Hodge, chair of the powerful public accounts committee, and the former cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell.
As for the rest of the papers, here are some stories and articles that are particularly interesting. The best way forward would be to more clearly distinguish between ministerial responsibility for policy and resources, and officials' responsibility for delivery and administration. This would redress the governance vacuum at the heart of Whitehall, overturning the now anachronistic convention that ministers must be solely accountable to parliament for their departmental business. All senior civil servants (grade 5 and above) would then appear before select committees, if called. Permanent secretaries could be directly performance managed on fixed-term contracts.
• Alexi Mostrous in the Times (paywall) says a Times investigation has established that "thousands of wealthy people in Britain pay as little as 1 per cent income tax using 'below the radar' accounting methods, part of a tax avoidance industry that costs the country billions of pounds". Unless the accountability question is tackled, reform of the civil service will remain a piecemeal affair.
In March, the Chancellor George Osborne used the Budget to condemn aggressive tax avoidance as "morally repugnant". Yet on the following day, Roy Lyness, of Peak Performance Accountants, which runs the K2 scheme, assured his clients: "We're delighted to inform you that most of the powerful tax-saving opportunities survived unscathed." • Andrew Haldenby at the Telegraph says the Maude reforms are likely to be a disappointment.
Posing as an IT consultant earning £280,000 a year, a Times reporter contacted a number of avoidance specialists offering schemes to people on salaries above £100,000. Mr Lyness promised that K2 could slash a hypothetical tax bill of £127,000 to just £3,500, equivalent to a personal income tax rate of 1.25 per cent. Francis Maude is about to release a new White Paper on Civil Service reform. It looks like it will be a mouse, when it needs to be a lion.
"It's a game of cat and mouse," he said. "The Revenue closes one scheme, we find another way round it. According to various reports, some Cabinet Ministers such as Michael Gove and Theresa May have pushed for a real reform package, which would allow them to appoint senior civil servants on fixed-term contracts. That would indeed put Whitehall on a new and much better footing. Instead the paper will leave the flawed structures of Whitehall in place and do no more than propose some minor variations on a theme. Given the importance of the subject and the potential cross-party support for radical reform, this is a significant disappointment.
"It's like a sat-nav. I'm driving to Manchester, get a message saying there's a smash at Stoke, press this button to re-route. That's all we do with tax avoidance. The Revenue puts a block in, we just go round the block."
/>• The Guardian's Public Leaders' Network is holding a Q&A about the plans later this week.
• Mary Riddell in the Daily Telegraph says Ed Miliband wants to establish himself as an international political figure. • Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the civil service, welcomes the plans on Twitter.
Since Mr Miliband must form an alternative to the Coalition, not the Westminster branch of the WI, he has unveiled a plan for an anti-austerity alliance in Europe ...
/>Important announcement today by Francis Maude on Civil Service Reform. This is a good plan that civil servants can and should get behind.
Billed as "a small gathering, not a bunfest", the inaugural meeting is likely to take place in Paris after the party conference season, and the invitees will probably include Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, Angela Merkel's social democrat challenger, Sigmar Gabriel, and southern European players. Mr Miliband's advisers are also watching to see whether the G20 opens a chasm between Merkel and Cameron on one side and Hollande on the other, backed by an Obama who is exasperated by European dithering and keen to engineer a sharper divide with his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. 3.35pm: The Daily Mail's Tim Shipman has got a good line on the Jeremy Browne story. (See 1.45pm.)
Having made some headway (though not yet enough) in outlining the society he envisages for straitened times, Mr Miliband now hopes to establish himself as an international actor and an unashamed European. "Ed has got to be totally clear that we believe that the future of Britain is best in Europe," says one senior Labour figure. Labour source on Jeremy Browne football gaffe: 'Just because he's a Foreign Office minister doesn't mean he has to support the foreigners.'

/>
/>• James Kirkup and Thomas Harding in the Daily Telegraph say the government is delaying the age at which members of the armed forces can qualify for a pension. 		— Tim Shipman (Mail) (@ShippersUnbound) June 19, 2012
Armed Forces personnel face having to serve for another five years before qualifying for their pensions, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. 3.36pm: Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, is making his civil service statement now.
Soldiers, sailors and airmen may have to give as much as 23 years' service before being able to leave with their pensions, up from as little as 18 years at present. 3.37pm: Francis Maude says he is setting out the first stage in a practical programme for reform.
The result would be that the effective minimum age for leaving the Services with an immediate pension would increase from 40 to 45. The civil service has to be faster, more flexible, more innovative and more accountable, he says.
The plan, disclosed in a Ministry of Defence document, has emerged amid complaints from soldiers that they have been targets for redundancy days before qualifying for their pension. Many soldiers claimed they were sacked and denied an immediate pension, in some cases after the MoD miscalculated the length of their service. The civil service is smaller than it has been. That has highlighted weaknesses.
• Sophie Borland in the Daily Mail says doctors who go "on strike" on Thursday will still be paid. It needs to be more digital, and to use date more effectively.
Health trusts have decided not to dock salaries even though the GPs will refuse to treat almost all their patients. A civil service reform plan is being published.
They claim that a day's pay – £430 to a typical GP on £110,000 a year – is merited because urgent cases will still be dealt with. These plans will deliver "real change", he says.
• Melanie Newman and Oliver Wright in the Independent say Lord Fink, the Conservative treasurer, has been criticised for agreeing to host a dinner in the Lords that would have broken anti-sleaze rules. Fink cancelled the booking before it went ahead. It is not an attack on civil servants. Civil servants themselves want change. Many of them are "deeply frustrated" by a culture that is risk-adverse.
• James Lyons in the Daily Mirror says Tory MP Nadine Dorries is using parliamentary allowances to pay her daughter more than £35,000 to work as her office manager. Civil servants were consulted, and their ideas fed into the reform plan.
• Gordon Rayner in the Daily Telegraph says journalists at the News of the World allegedly hacked the emails of a witness in the Tommy Sheridan trial. Maude says he wants this to be "change that lasts". Ministers in the last government were consulted.
11.12am: Professor Cathy Nutbrown has now published the final report from the review of early education and childcare that she has been carrying out for the government. The full 82-page report is here (pdf). In the future the civil service will be flatter, more digital and more accountable. It will also be more satisfying to work for.
In a speech at an early years conference this morning, Nutbrown summarised her recommendations. Here's an extract. 3.40pm: Maude is still speaking.

/>We need a clear, rigorous system of qualifications in place to ensure a competent and confident workforce. As I have said there are far too many qualifications, they don't equip students with the necessary skills and the system is confusing. In response I recommend the content of qualifications be changed to strengthen and include more on child development and play, special educational needs and disability, and inclusivity and diversity. More importantly the qualifications must focus on the birth to 7 age range. Level 3 must become the minimum standard for the workforce. This means all staff, who work to the EYFS framework, including childminders should be qualified at a minimum level 3 by September 2022, with some staging of posts in the interim. 		He says there are 500,000 people in the civil service. That will go down to 380,000.
It is crucial that we raise expectations of the workforce so that we attract the best people – quality staff make a difference. When I published my interim the press heavily focused on my view of literacy and numeracy skills amongst staff caring and educating our babies and young children. These skills are essential: to develop professional knowledge; to communicate effectively with parents; to carry out observations or assessments, to read stories to children and to support children's early language development. This reinforces my argument for the importance of quality and why I am recommending students must have a level 2 in English and mathematics upon entry to a level 3 early education or childcare course. In the future it will become normal for departments to share services.

/>Sarah Teather, the children's minister, said she welcomed the "thoughtful and thorough" report. 		Providing services digitally will be the norm.
It takes a careful and measured look at the sector, and will be very useful in helping us to shape the future of the early years workforce. We need to attract bright people to the sector so that our young children get the best possible start in life - after all, they only get one chance. There will also be more mutuals, he says.
11.06am: Last night the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, Steve Rotheram, won MP speech of the year in the PoliticsHome awards for the speech he gave on the Hillsborough tragedy. You can read the full text of the speech here. Management layers will be cut. At most there will be eight layers between the top and the front line, and often there will be fewer, he says.
10.39am: Do you know what Serbia's new president looks like? Accountability will be sharper. At the moment management information in government is poor. By October a robust cross-government management information system will be in place. This will enable civil servants to be held to account.
No, nor did I, so I have some sympathy for Lady Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, who has been caught on camera asking aides to help her identify Tomislav Nikolic. Former accounting officers will, if necessarily, be called back to give evidence to the public accounts committee.
10.26am: If you read the Guardian's exclusive story today about almost seven million people living in extreme financial stress, do check out Patrick Butler's Breadline Britain live blog. He's hosting a live Q&A about the report later and he's inviting readers to post comments about their own experience of living on the breadline. The civil service commission will be consulted on how secretaries of state can have more say in the appointment of permanent secretaries. Under the current system, they are normally only given one name to approve.
9.58am: And while we're on the subject of polls, Ipsos MORI have got an interesting one from Scotland. Here's an extract from their news release. 3.44pm: Maude is still speaking.
Three weeks after the 'Yes' campaign was launched, support for Scottish independence has fallen in our latest poll for The Times and The Sun. There are some deficiences in capabilities, he says.
Among those certain to vote in the referendum, 35% agree that 'Scotland should be an independent country' while 55% disagree and 11% are undecided. This represents a fall of 4 points in support for independence compared to our previous poll in January 2012, while support for staying in the union has risen by 5 points over the same period. Civil servants will need more financial knowledge.
This means the anti-independence lobby is now 20 points ahead - up from an 11 point lead in January. There is also a policy skills gap, he says.
9.46am: Here's the top of the Press Association story about the inflation figures. By the autumn a capabilities plan will be in place saying what skills are missing.
The rate of inflation unexpectedly fell to a two-and-a-half-year low last month as declining oil prices started to filter through to the petrol pumps.
/>The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation dropped to 2.8% in May, from 3% in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, the lowest level since November 2009. City analysts expected the rate to remain unchanged.
/>The decline was driven by a sharp drop in petrol pump prices, as the average petrol price fell by 4.5p per litre between April and May to stand at 137.1p. Last year, the average petrol price rose 2p to 136.3p.
/>Inflation has fallen from 5.2% last September due to the waning impact of the VAT hike at the start of 2011 and falling energy, food and commodity prices, easing pressure on squeezed household incomes.
/>Despite today's fall, inflation has still not pulled back as quickly as the Bank of England initially expected, after fears over increasing tensions between the West and Iran pushed oil prices higher in March.
/>But the cost of crude oil has fallen since then and May's inflation figures show that this is starting to benefit consumers.
/>Average diesel prices also decreased, dropping 4.4p to 143.3p between April and May, compared with a 0.7p rise last year to 141.5p.
/>The fall in inflation in May is likely to bolster the case for the Bank to pump more emergency cash into the economy through its quantitative easing programme, as the eurozone crisis escalates and threatens to destabilise the UK economy.
/>Britain's economy entered a technical recession in the first quarter of the year as gross domestic product declined 0.2%, following a 0.3% drop in the final quarter of 2011.
/>Last month, inflation moved to within 1% of the Government's 2% target, meaning Bank Governor Sir Mervyn King did not have to send a letter of explanation to the Chancellor.
/>A Treasury spokesman said: "Inflation is out of Open Letter territory for the second month in a row, which is good news and is providing some welcome relief for family budgets." 		Staff say manager lack leadership skills. In future, leadership will be taught.

/>
/>Here's the Office for National Statistics release with the headline figures. And here's the ONS statistical bulletin, with the full details (pdf). 		Permanent secretaries will in future have to have spent at least two years in an operational role.
9.29am: There are two polls around this morning. Here are the figures. In the future there will be more appraisals. Those in the bottom 10% will have to show real improvement if they expect to stay.
YouGov for the Sun
/>
/>Labour: 44% (no change from YouGov in the Sunday Times)
/>Conservatives: 33% (up 1)
/>Ukip: 8% (no change)
/>Lib Dems: 7% (down 2) 		Policy making will be opened up. In future, open policy making will become the default.
Labour lead: 11 points A small fund will pilot policy making from outside Whitehall, he says.
Government approval: -39 (no change) Maude says none of the actions in the plan are dramatic. But, taken together, they will produce real change.
Populus in the Times (paywall) Change is essential if the civil service is to meet the challenges of a fast-changing world, he says.
Labour: 41% (no change since Populus for the Times in May)
/>Conservatives: 33% (no change)
/>Lib Dems: 9% (down 1) 		3.48pm: Jon Trickett, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, is responding.
Labour lead: 8 points He says there has been a collapse in morale over the last two years.
9.07am: The BBC's Mark Easton says the governnment's response to the Dilnot report on social care has now been delayed until at least July. On his blog, he explains why the Treasury is so reluctant to accept the Dilnot plan. He says he particularly welcomes the plans to extend the digital delivery of services.
Whispers from Whitehall tell a story of agonising inside the Treasury - not only the question "Can we afford it?", but also asking "Is Dilnot's solution the right one?" He asks Maude to confirm that he does not think that the private sector is always superior to the public sector.
The commission's plan is for a cap on how much individuals must fork out before the state starts paying the bills. Recommending it be set at £35,000, the cost to the Treasury is put at around £1.7bn a year. He asks what consultation there has been on plans to sack the 10% worst performers.
But with a second round of deep public sector cuts in the offing, the question being asked is whether the government can really agree to spend close to another couple of billion on subsidising residential care costs for people who may be relatively affluent in terms of property ... He asks if the government is still committed to regional pay.
Treasury officials have been looking at whether the money could be found from cuts to other services currently provided to the same group. Should winter fuel allowance and free TV licences be means tested? What about the state pension? For the moment, it seems the politics and economics of such moves cannot be made to add up. And he asks if there will be a "rise in cronyism" as a result of the plans.
Easton's blog also includes the "Barnet graph of doom" - a graph doing the rounds in Whitehall, apparently, showing that "unless things change dramatically, within 20 years Barnet Council will be 'unable to provide any services except adult social care and children's services: no libraries, no parks, no leisure centres - not even bin collections'."
/>
/>Andy Burnham (pictured), the shadow health secretary, was talking about this on the Today programme this morning. There are cross-party talks on social care underway and Burnham offered to suspend "politics as usual" to enable these talks to succeed. 		3.54pm: Maude is replying to Trickett.
It's for the government to set forward the options as they see it, but without political courage there is no progress, and the offer I would make today to the Government is almost to suspend politics as usual – to give them the space to bring forward some difficult options without the usual point scoring. He says he is very concerned about the danger of cronyism. That is why the new procedures will be overseen by the civil service commission.
But Burnham could not resist a tiny bit of point scoring himself. He said he would not comment in detail on how the cross-party talks were going. However, he also made it quite clear that he thought Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, was not handling them very well. He says he does not assume that bringing in the private sector is always the best solution.
I have some concerns about the way the government has approached the talks, but I don't want to go into those details today, because I want those talks to succeed. We have met, and there's been exchange of information between the parties. It is going on – it's not happening anything like as urgently or as quickly as I would like to see. On regional pay, he says the only moves towards this took place under Labour. The Ministry of Justice introduced an element of regional pay. This government won't take it any further unless there is strong evidence to support it, he says.
I've taken the quotes from PoliticsHome. 4.04pm: There is a summary of the civil service reform proposals on the civil service website.
9.00am: David Cameron is still at the G20 summit in Mexico and it sounds as if he's in a gloomy mood. As Patrick Wintour reports, yesterday Cameron was floating the idea of Britain having to seek fresh export markets outside the EU because he thinks the eurozone crisis is so intractable. And here's the full 31-page reform plan (pdf).

/>It may be that the eurozone crisis is going to continue for some time, in which case the UK must do all it can to put its own house in order and link up with the fastest growing parts of the world. 		Here's a summary of the proposals from the Cabinet Office (in their words, not mine).
What does that mean? The UK joining Asean? Nice idea, but I doubt they'll have us.
/>• More rigorous performance management: Performance management will be strengthened by standardising competency frameworks across Government and implementing a tougher appraisal system which, for the SCS, identifies the top 25% and the bottom 10%. Good performance will be recognised and poor performance tackled. Civil servants have told us they are frustrated by a culture where exceptional performance is not sufficiently recognised and under-performance is not addressed.
Back in the UK, it's fairly quiet. The main event seems to be Francis Maude's civil service reform announcement. As Juliette Jowit and Nicholas Watt report, it will feature two key proposals. • Strengthening capability: By autumn we will have a cross-Civil Service capabilities plan that identifies what skills are missing and how gaps will be filled. For the first time talent will be deployed corporately – so people with the right skills in departments can be matched to the greatest corporate need. With more services commissioned from outside, there is a serious lack of commissioning, contracting and digital skills.
• All permanent secretaries in what are known as the main delivery departments, such as health and education, will be required to have had more than two years in a commercial or operational role. Maude, whose plans are based on a consultation process with staff across the country, is keen to provide opportunities to the 70% of civil servants outside Whitehall who do not fit into the Yes Minister policymaking mould. • Unified Civil Service: There will be a more unified approach to developing talent and building capacity across the Civil Service. Shared services will become the norm to ensure that there is a consistently high quality service available to every Department.
• A more rigorous appraisal system, which will identify the top 25% and the bottom 10%. The high performers will be recognised while the poor performers will be "tackled". • New ways of delivering services: By autumn the Cabinet Office will have completed a review with departments to see what further examples of change in delivery models can be implemented this Parliament. The old binary choice between the monolithic in-house provision and full-scale privatisation has been replaced by a number of new ways of delivering services, including mutuals. Digital by default needs to become a reality.
/>
/>• Creating a modern employment offer for staff: The Civil Service will be a good, modern employer and continue to be among the best employers in the country. Departments will undertake a review of terms and conditions to identify those beyond what a good, modern employer would provide. We will also take actions to ensure staff get the IT and security training they've been asking for so they can do their jobs properly.
I'll be covering the announcement when we get it at 3.30pm. • Open policy making: a new presumption in favour of open policy making, with policy developed on the basis of the widest possible engagement with external experts and those who will have the task of delivering the policy once announced.
Here's the full agenda for the day. 4.09pm: And here's a quote from Francis Maude about the plans.
9am: Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, attends the launch of the London 2012 Festival. To succeed in the future we need a civil service that is faster, more flexible and more innovative – better able to deliver this government's ambitious programme of reforms to the public services on which we all rely. Because of the size of the deficit we inherited in 2010 our civil service is smaller today than at any time since the second world war. This has highlighted where there are weaknesses and strengthened the need to tackle them.
9.25am: Sarah Teather, the children's minister, speaks at the Early Years 2012 conference. As Patrick Wintour reports, the government is launching a government childcare commission that will look at lengthening the school day and allowing childcare workers to look after more children at any one time, in an attempt to cut costs for parents. We need to build capabilities and address missing skills, embrace new ways of delivering services – for example through mutuals – and do more digitally. To improve decision making we need better management information and greater accountability. And we are responding to the concerns of civil servants by transforming performance management and career development in what will be a more corporate civil service.
9.30am: Inflation figures for May are published. 4.20pm: Here is some reaction to the civil service reform plan.
10am: Rail experts give evidence to the Commons transport committee • The PCS union says the plan is "built on sand" because jobs are being cut.
10am: Pension funds and investment managers give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about City pay. The plan confirms the huge and unsustainable number of job cuts planned by this government, which means more use of the private sector, allowing profit margins to drive decisions about the provision of services instead of public need.
10.15am: Jeremy Browne, the Foreign Office minister, gives evidence to the foreign affairs committee on human rights. It will do nothing to address the major concerns of civil and public servants, that their jobs are being slashed, their pay is being cut and their pensions are being raided to pay off a deficit caused by the recession and bailing out the banks.
11am: David Nutt, the former chairman of the advisory council on the misuse of drugs, and other drugs experts give evidence to the Commons home affairs committee. And instead of accepting that their political choices are making our economic situation worse and damaging the public services we all rely on, ministers appear to want to blame civil servants and claim that the answer is to cut the civil service down to record levels.
11am: Nick Herbert, the policing minister, gives a speech on elected police commissioners. • The Institute for Government says it is a promising plan. The IfG has also published a detailed response (pdf).
/>
1.50pm: David Anderson, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, gives evidence to the joint human rights committee on the justice and security bill. It is a promising plan with some bold ideas, with the potential to achieve needed improvements. But all depends on the consistency, coherence and energy of implementation. Some statements show a serious appetite for reform. The plan is relevant to the whole of the civil service, not just the policy making elite. It addresses many key issues that reform must tackle. But it is early days. There are plenty of questions to answer before we can judge whether the reform ideas will be turned into actions that transform the civil service. The Institute for Government will follow up this initial response up with a detailed examination of many of the proposals.
3.30pm: Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, is expected to make a statement in the Commons about plans to reform the civil service. 4.50pm: Here's an afternoon summary.
At some point today Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary, is speaking at his union's annual conference. • Union leaders have said that the government's plans to cut the size of Whitehall will ensure that the civil service reform plans announced this afternoon do not benefit the public. Here's a statement from Paul Noon, general secretary of Prospect, the union representing civil service professionals.
As usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and another at about 4pm. What is planned for the government's own workforce is more of the same – pay and job cuts, once again without any indication of what tasks are to be shed or their impact on core skills.
If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. The cuts are to be achieved by a human resources policy that takes it out on people who don't get on with their boss, which will only create a culture of fear and import into government the worst excesses of David Brent's The Office.
And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. This is not a vision of a professional civil service attuned to an economy in crisis or the technological needs of the 21st century. It is management by diktat and another nail in the coffin of the public service ethos.
And the PCS union said the plan involved "huge and unsustainable" job cuts. (See 4.20pm.) The unions spoke out after Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, unveiled his plans in the Commons. (See 4.09pm.)
• David Anderson, the independent reviewer of anti-terror legislation, has said that plans to allow secret hearings in civil courts are "overkill". Giving evidence to the joint committee on human rights, he said the government's justice and security bill went too far.
It addresses what I consider to be a genuine problem, but it does so in a way which is disproportionate. I think there is an element of overkill, that I have no doubt will be the subject of debate.
• Labour has criticsed Jeremy Browne, the Foreign Office minister, for saying England has little chance of winning Euro 2012. (See 1.45pm.) Dick Caborn, the former sports minister, put out this statement.
Lifelong football fans like George Osborne and David Cameron will be shocked by Jeremy Browne's comments. We know this government is cold on Europe, but by any standards this is taking it a bit far.
History suggests England only win tournaments with a Labour Government. And if the Government was fighting as hard for the country as the England team are on the pitch we'd be doing a lot better.
A Downing Street spokeswoman defended Browne's comments, insisting: "He was just stating historical fact rather than passing judgment."
• Sean Worth, a No 10 adviser until last month, has told the Guardian the Conservatives are in danger of becoming permanently associated with slashing spending on schools, hospitals and other services instead of reforming them.
• MPs have been told that pay expectations in the City remain wildly out of line with other sectors, despite efforts to tackle its reward culture.
• It has emerged that Lord Justice Leveson considered holding an emergency hearing this week into reports he threatened to resign in late February after his inquiry was criticised by Michael Gove.
• A poll has revealed that most GP practices will open as usual on Thursday, when doctors are supposed to be taking industrial action. As the Press Association reports, a poll by Pulse magazine said only a quarter of practices across the UK have notified their primary care organisation that they will be taking part in the strike. Across 20 primary care organisations, 281 out of 1,265 practices have so far notified NHS managers they are taking action.

• Ofcom has said that potential concentrations of media power should be subject to regular, formal reviews.
That's it for today. Thanks for the comments.