Letter continued
Civil Service values
The Commissioners have taken an active role this year in the promotion of the Civil Service values as outlined in the Civil Service Code. We worked with others to produce a Best Practice Checklist for departments. We surveyed departments in May 2008 and are pleased to report that the departments who responded are taking many positive steps to promote the Code in a variety of their interactions with staff.
We have received more appeals under the Code, and our survey of departments indicates that they too have received more complaints, though the picture is patchy. This goes some way to address our concerns about the low number of appeals we have received over the last few years. However, our surveys do indicate a degree of confusion between the different appeal and complaints processes available to civil servants. This may to some degree be inevitable, as many departments run common complaints procedures that cover a number of different regimes. We will monitor this and work with others to see if there is more that can be done to promote the unique nature of Civil Service Code appeals.
Positive developments
I would like to highlight a number of other positive developments. Over the last few years we have introduced the notion of the ‘Link Commissioner’. Each department and large agency has a Commissioner who meets regularly with the Permanent Secretary or Chief Executive, and often with their Human Resources Director, to explore areas of common concern. This role has recently been endorsed by Sir Gus O’Donnell and his Permanent Secretary colleagues. We are working with them on ways to enhance this role for mutual benefit but without compromising our primary role as regulator.
Working with departments, we have launched our ‘Regulated by the Civil Service Commissioners’ logo for use in external recruitment. We believe this will quickly become a widely recognised symbol of assurance of Civil Service recruitment.
Last year we published our annual report on-line for the first time. The download figures show that the report reached far more people than had been reached by the paper publication of previous years. We received much positive feedback and we are pleased to publish on-line again this year.
Thanks
Finally a couple of words of thanks. James Boyle has finished his second stint as a Civil Service Commissioner. He contributed intelligence and clear sight to our discussions and his deep engagement with the public life of Scotland was a major asset to our work. Jim Barron has moved on after ten years as Secretary to the Commissioners. We thank him for all his hard work, and his kindness and wise counsel to Commissioners past and present.
Looking forward
I started with the Constitutional Renewal Bill and I end with it. Looking forward, it is inevitable that the passage of the Bill through Parliament will determine much of our work during the coming year. As many others have noted, we have waited a very long time for Civil Service legislation, now the possibility is at last here we must get it right. We welcome the fact that the Government has brought a Bill forward and we will work with the Government and others to ensure the best possible legislation is brought to the statute book. The core values of the Civil Service - honesty, integrity, objectivity, impartiality and appointment on merit are important to every civil servant and every citizen. With my fellow Commissioners, I look forward to the next phase of our work in ensuring that those values underpin an efficient, fair and effective Civil Service, now and for the future.
Janet Paraskeva
First Civil Service Commissioner