Spectator - Christmas Crossword -...
Crosswords1 min ago
I Remember During Thatcher's Time In Office An Executive From Sainsbury's, I Think, Was Brought In To Try And...
...try and find economies in the civil service. It seems this government is making plans for massive cuts. Reports say more than 91,000 may go.
Why is the civil service always the whipping boy?
An example, the passport office is under heavy pressure. It seems they could do with more staff rather than less.
Why is the civil service always the whipping boy?
An example, the passport office is under heavy pressure. It seems they could do with more staff rather than less.
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//Why do you seem to think that the civil service is not working?//
Let's have a look:
The DVLA:
https:/
“The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has admitted that there will be no return to normal service for drivers with medical conditions before the end of September. More than 200,000 applicants have waited longer than 10 weeks to find out whether they can continue driving.”
The Passport Office:
https:/
“Travellers told to apply as soon as possible as MPs accuse agency of running ‘absolute shambles’. A couple this week told how they face having to cancel their wedding because of continued delays at the Passport Office.”
The Probate Office:
https:/
“My uncle died 11 months ago, and my mother also died, leaving my brother and myself to settle his estate. Ten months after applying for letters of administration, we are still waiting for probate to be granted.”
The Office of the Public Guardian:
https:/
“The OPG, responsible for processing Power of Attorney applications, said in July that people would now have to wait up to 20 weeks to register the vital document.”
The Department for Work *& Pensions:
https:/
"State pension chaos at the Department of Work and Pensions has led to one widow, 82, waiting more than a year for her money and ending up being owed £75,500, This is Money can reveal. A service meltdown has seen pensioners face phone logjams, empty promises of help by staff when they do get through, and in the worst cases hardship or hunger while trying to get payments started."
Do you want me to go on? (Other examples are readily available).
These are manifestations that the Civil Service is not working. They come from looking at the easily recognisable customer-facing services it is tasked to provide. There is no reason to believe that it is only those departments which are not working properly. There have been examples of Ministers being unable to function properly as well (for example when the Afghan crisis kicked off and all the bods in the Foreign Office were WFH with no access to sensitive documents, thus making Ministers' reactions to the crisis almost impossible).
A poster a few days ago asked "why is it that Civil Servants are always the whipping boys?" The answer is straightforward. It is because they seem to assume some forms of entitlement that no other employees have. For example, their union has recently said that their members "feel pressurised by government officials to return to their offices without outlining what benefits this will bring to the workers or their employers." The benefit to the workers is they get paid; the benefit to their employers is they get the work done that is required. Most of all - and completely overlooked in the Union's question (unsurprisingly) - the benefit to the customer (i.e. taxpayers who need these services and can get them nowhere else) is they get the services provided in a reasonable timescale and with as little trouble as possible. Clearly, from the examples I've given above, that currently isn't happening.
Let's have a look:
The DVLA:
https:/
“The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has admitted that there will be no return to normal service for drivers with medical conditions before the end of September. More than 200,000 applicants have waited longer than 10 weeks to find out whether they can continue driving.”
The Passport Office:
https:/
“Travellers told to apply as soon as possible as MPs accuse agency of running ‘absolute shambles’. A couple this week told how they face having to cancel their wedding because of continued delays at the Passport Office.”
The Probate Office:
https:/
“My uncle died 11 months ago, and my mother also died, leaving my brother and myself to settle his estate. Ten months after applying for letters of administration, we are still waiting for probate to be granted.”
The Office of the Public Guardian:
https:/
“The OPG, responsible for processing Power of Attorney applications, said in July that people would now have to wait up to 20 weeks to register the vital document.”
The Department for Work *& Pensions:
https:/
"State pension chaos at the Department of Work and Pensions has led to one widow, 82, waiting more than a year for her money and ending up being owed £75,500, This is Money can reveal. A service meltdown has seen pensioners face phone logjams, empty promises of help by staff when they do get through, and in the worst cases hardship or hunger while trying to get payments started."
Do you want me to go on? (Other examples are readily available).
These are manifestations that the Civil Service is not working. They come from looking at the easily recognisable customer-facing services it is tasked to provide. There is no reason to believe that it is only those departments which are not working properly. There have been examples of Ministers being unable to function properly as well (for example when the Afghan crisis kicked off and all the bods in the Foreign Office were WFH with no access to sensitive documents, thus making Ministers' reactions to the crisis almost impossible).
A poster a few days ago asked "why is it that Civil Servants are always the whipping boys?" The answer is straightforward. It is because they seem to assume some forms of entitlement that no other employees have. For example, their union has recently said that their members "feel pressurised by government officials to return to their offices without outlining what benefits this will bring to the workers or their employers." The benefit to the workers is they get paid; the benefit to their employers is they get the work done that is required. Most of all - and completely overlooked in the Union's question (unsurprisingly) - the benefit to the customer (i.e. taxpayers who need these services and can get them nowhere else) is they get the services provided in a reasonable timescale and with as little trouble as possible. Clearly, from the examples I've given above, that currently isn't happening.
You can bring 5 stories about how they have failed (the passport office fails every year)
But are you really saying the whole civil service is failing because of 5 stories.
You do realise there is not the office space for everyone to work in the office?
In my department alone there is 4 desks for 10 staff that is utterly stupid and then on top of the the government have let out office space in our nice new building to other government departments cutting desks even further.
But are you really saying the whole civil service is failing because of 5 stories.
You do realise there is not the office space for everyone to work in the office?
In my department alone there is 4 desks for 10 staff that is utterly stupid and then on top of the the government have let out office space in our nice new building to other government departments cutting desks even further.
Dring the Russian attempts to storm Kyiv the Ukranian civil service carrried on working, from the offices that were liable to be targeted by rocketry or artillary, all through. Meanwhile the majority of our Civil(oxymoron alert) Service was "working from home" in the name of avoiding a virus that was just about beaten. Supposedly at home hiding from a now non existant threat whilst everybody else in the Country was eager to get back to normal life. The Civil Serpants already enjoyed better working conditions and pay than the rest of the Country even before the temporary measures suddenly became permanant rights. Sack the lot and bring in the Ukrainian office workers. The ones that were on duty were, according to the outgoing Australian Ambassador George Brandis, were hell bent on wrecking post Brexit trade negotiations. Harbouring a deep resentment and truculence they did their damndest to thwart or hinder all aspects of the £10.4billion deal. In the frame and highlighted by him was the culture of protectionism and open hostility to any deal outside the EUSSR adopted by the remainiacs all, Whitehall, employees.
Since mid March we've been going into the office 2 days per week. I work in an open plan office and it can get quite noisy with a team behind my desk. It was like that before we started working from home but seems more magnified now particularly when trying to dial into meetings on Teams. I've found that I'm more productive in the home environment as I also get distracted by colleagues when working on reports, monthly audits etc. If anyone Skypes me when at home I can tell them to hang on a sec.
It takes me nearly an hour to get into work in the morning during rush hour since I moved house and around 45mins on way home. The toilets at work only get cleaned once a day and can be pretty grim by close of play.
The good thing is that I get to see my colleagues on the days I'm in as long as they are in on the same days. I went in on Tuesday this week and sat on my own like Billy no mates. Was due to go in on Wednesday but there was a bus strike......train station is too far to walk to, you'd need a bus to get there.
And yes.....I am a civil servant.....just on my lunch break!
It takes me nearly an hour to get into work in the morning during rush hour since I moved house and around 45mins on way home. The toilets at work only get cleaned once a day and can be pretty grim by close of play.
The good thing is that I get to see my colleagues on the days I'm in as long as they are in on the same days. I went in on Tuesday this week and sat on my own like Billy no mates. Was due to go in on Wednesday but there was a bus strike......train station is too far to walk to, you'd need a bus to get there.
And yes.....I am a civil servant.....just on my lunch break!
Civil Servants have always been a target for criticism often based on their perceived job for life with golden pension benefits. The job for life bit went out the window years ago, 1000s and 1000s have been made redundant over the years. The pension is nothing like as good as it was except for those with many years in and retained rights. Sick pay and support is also massive in comparison with the private sector with most getting 6 months full pay and then another 6 months on half pay when hit with serious illness.
I have always stuck up for the CS as I know many of them work very hard and conscientiously.
The only bit I would agree needs tackling is it remains near impossible and rarely attempted to remove someone for poor performance. Wasters often continue in employment with others having to take up their sack.
As for WFH that has issues that exist across the working population. It's not just the CS who don't want to go back into office full-time. Has anyone tried to get in contact with those in the travel industry for example?
I have always stuck up for the CS as I know many of them work very hard and conscientiously.
The only bit I would agree needs tackling is it remains near impossible and rarely attempted to remove someone for poor performance. Wasters often continue in employment with others having to take up their sack.
As for WFH that has issues that exist across the working population. It's not just the CS who don't want to go back into office full-time. Has anyone tried to get in contact with those in the travel industry for example?
“I’m more productive in the home environment…”
I hear this as lot, and I just don’t buy it.
You may well be, but as a rule (yes I’m generalising) people are not more productive from a work POV. They may be more productive personally, in so far as they can pick the kids up from school, take in the Tesco delivery and mow the lawn, all on work time, but they aren’t more productive for their employer.
I wonder what would happen if the London based civil servants were told they could WFH full time, but in return their London Weighting would be removed. Actually, I don’t need to wonder what would happen - The Mirror and The Guardian would have banner headlines about pay cuts.
I hear this as lot, and I just don’t buy it.
You may well be, but as a rule (yes I’m generalising) people are not more productive from a work POV. They may be more productive personally, in so far as they can pick the kids up from school, take in the Tesco delivery and mow the lawn, all on work time, but they aren’t more productive for their employer.
I wonder what would happen if the London based civil servants were told they could WFH full time, but in return their London Weighting would be removed. Actually, I don’t need to wonder what would happen - The Mirror and The Guardian would have banner headlines about pay cuts.
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