GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SERVICE

That this House is alarmed at attempts by the Government to politicise the Civil Service; notes that the Prime Minister personally overruled the appointment of David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change, who had been selected as the new permanent secretary of the Department for Energy and Climate Change; is surprised at the claim of the Minister for the Cabinet Office that some top civil servants have deliberately obstructed plans that Ministers want to be implemented; recalls that many past failing governments, in mid-term, blamed civil servants for government ineptitude; and asserts the prime need for the independence of the Civil Service to provide stability and moderation in government.