More Chiefs, Fewer Indians
Here's an interesting report that appeared on the BBC's web site the other day.
Apparently, at a time when everyone is banging on about cuts in public spending - the pay bill for the civil service has actually gone up - because of a rise in the number of middle managers.
So we have more chiefs, but fewer indians - which seems a very odd way to run things.
Maybe we should have a proper audit of public services in Scotland - to help people see the wood through the trees.
Where have numbers gone up and gone down - I think the public should be told?
But it's a safe bet that the lowest paid footsoldiers in the front line - will not have fared terribly well.
"Civil service: Warning over Whitehall pay bill rise"
"The government hopes to reduce administrative costs to help tackle the deficit Continue reading the main story
An increase in the number of middle managers means the civil service is facing a growing pay bill, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned.
Staff numbers have fallen by 1% over the past decade, but there has been a 10% real-terms rise in staff costs, which now stand at £16.4bn a year.
A 67% rise in the numbers in middle management grades accounts for half of that increase in costs.
The report also highlighted the growth in performance-related pay. It said this had risen from "virtually zero" ten years ago to £200m, accounting for 1% of pay.
The report said the growth in the number of managers came as junior administrative staff were being cut, with overall staff numbers falling from 497,000 to 493,000 over the ten years to 2009-2010.
The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that the inability of Whitehall departments to control their staff costs could undermine the Government's attempts to cut administrative spending to help reduce the deficit.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee which oversees the NAO, said: "It is just not acceptable for management layers and bureaucracy to build up in the Civil Service with nobody in government controlling what was happening.
"These weaknesses could hamper the government's ability to make the right choices, at a time when further cuts in staff numbers are looming."
Margaret Hodge is a London based Labour MP, by the way.
Apparently, at a time when everyone is banging on about cuts in public spending - the pay bill for the civil service has actually gone up - because of a rise in the number of middle managers.
So we have more chiefs, but fewer indians - which seems a very odd way to run things.
Maybe we should have a proper audit of public services in Scotland - to help people see the wood through the trees.
Where have numbers gone up and gone down - I think the public should be told?
But it's a safe bet that the lowest paid footsoldiers in the front line - will not have fared terribly well.
"Civil service: Warning over Whitehall pay bill rise"
"The government hopes to reduce administrative costs to help tackle the deficit Continue reading the main story
An increase in the number of middle managers means the civil service is facing a growing pay bill, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned.
Staff numbers have fallen by 1% over the past decade, but there has been a 10% real-terms rise in staff costs, which now stand at £16.4bn a year.
A 67% rise in the numbers in middle management grades accounts for half of that increase in costs.
The report also highlighted the growth in performance-related pay. It said this had risen from "virtually zero" ten years ago to £200m, accounting for 1% of pay.
The report said the growth in the number of managers came as junior administrative staff were being cut, with overall staff numbers falling from 497,000 to 493,000 over the ten years to 2009-2010.
The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that the inability of Whitehall departments to control their staff costs could undermine the Government's attempts to cut administrative spending to help reduce the deficit.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee which oversees the NAO, said: "It is just not acceptable for management layers and bureaucracy to build up in the Civil Service with nobody in government controlling what was happening.
"These weaknesses could hamper the government's ability to make the right choices, at a time when further cuts in staff numbers are looming."
Margaret Hodge is a London based Labour MP, by the way.
