Public Service under pressure from wave of unthinkables
The manner in which Sir Philip Rutnam, the most senior Home Office official, resigned from office on Saturday was unthinkable.
His announcement that he will take legal action for constructive dismissal made it even more extraordinary.
It is a symptom of the pressures on a public service creaking under the weight of delivering a difficult Brexit, leading the charge on Climate Change – on a global scale with COP 26 - long-term demographic changes, and now planning for a coronavirus epidemic. All in an era of austerity.
Public trust in Government appears to be at an all-time low. The sheer level of demand on each and every public servant at all levels is unprecedented since wartime.
When Thinking the Unthinkable co-directors Nik Gowing and Chris Langdon spoke to two sessions at the Government’s new National Leadership Forum on 29 January they heard leaders from across the public services air the acute difficulties they and their staff face at this time of radical disruption on multiple fronts.
We heard first hand under Chatham House terms of confidentiality how burnout and exhaustion are growing personal concerns for public service leaders and for their staff. Also, many want to experiment and embrace innovation. They recognise that the old maxim in public service that “inaction has a low cost, whereas action has a high cost” has to be overcome.
You can read more about our presentation and discussion in this blog by the National Leadership Centre here