‘GDS was an outstanding innovation… the professionalisation of tech was a superb reform’ says former top civil servant.

In a series of tweets analysing recent attempts of civil service reform by the Johnson Administration, Ciaran Martin, former Head of the National Cyber Security Centre reflects on the success Francis Maude had in this area during his time as UK Minister for the Cabinet Office between 2010-2015. 

Martin writes that “Maude... Had a clear, published narrative and strategy. You could support or resist it but you know what it was. There was a set of deliverables, and a team to implement them”. This is a reference to the effectiveness of Francis as Minister for the Cabinet Office in devising, communicating and successfully implementing plans to make the UK Civil Service more efficient, and ensuring better public services for citizens. 

Another part of Francis’s reform agenda was the creation of the Government Digital Service (GDS). GDS was launched in December 2011 as a central function to lead a programme of digital transformation across government. Martin comments that ‘GDS was an outstanding innovation... The professionalisation of tech was a superb reform’. By 2015, GDS had built a single domain for Government: GOV.UK, becoming an online home for all Government’s services and content, bringing hundreds of organisations into one place. The success of GDS and the Maude reforms were highlighted in 2016 when the UN ranked the UK best in the world for e-government.

As Chairman of FMA, Francis now supports government around the world in implementing difficult reform programmes. 

https://twitter.com/ciaranmartinoxf/status/1348350044198596610

https://twitter.com/ciaranmartinoxf/status/1348359522377752577

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article/war-on-whitehall-changed-absolutely-nothing-former-top-civil-servant-says