Civil Service Performance Management Plans 2026-04-23
2026-04-23
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
▸
Context
The question arises from concerns over the [K effectiveness of current civil service performance management plans and the [3D [K their impact on constituent interactions with government agencies. The MP h [1D [K highlights record numbers of bureaucrats but points to low productivity, le [2D [K leading to errors and delays for constituents.
What assessment has been made of the effectivenes [12D [K effectiveness of performance management plans in the civil service? Our con [3D [K constituents must interact with many Government agencies each week to renew [5D [K renew their passport or driving licence or to submit their tax returns. Des [3D [K Despite record numbers of bureaucrats, productivity remains low, which resu [4D [K results in many errors and vast delays for our constituents.
Departments are responsible for setting their own p [1D [K performance plans, subject to centrally set performance management framewor [8D [K frameworks. This Government are focused on a high-performing civil service, [8D [K service, which is why we have recently announced changes to the senior civi [4D [K civil service performance system that will see the performance of top civil [5D [K civil servants linked to key performance indicators set by their Ministers, [10D [K Ministers, and underperformers held to tougher standards.
▸
Assessment & feedback
The Government's response did not address specifi [7D [K specific actions or commitments for poorly performing civil servants costin [6D [K costing constituents millions of pounds each year. Instead, it focused on t [1D [K the general framework changes without concrete details about addressing poo [3D [K poor performance issues directly.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
▸
Context
The question is a follow-up to the initial [K query, focusing on constituent interactions with government agencies and hi [2D [K highlighting issues of low productivity, errors, and delays. The MP also me [2D [K mentions that answers to written parliamentary questions confirm there is n [1D [K no proper performance management of civil servants.
Our constituents must interact with many Governme [8D [K Government agencies each week to renew their passport or driving licence or [2D [K or to submit their tax returns. Despite record numbers of bureaucrats, prod [4D [K productivity remains low, which results in many errors and vast delays for [K our constituents. The answers to my written parliamentary questions confirm [7D [K confirm that there is no proper performance management of our civil servant [7D [K servants, corrective action or even dismissals for continued poor performan [9D [K performance.
I think it is ironic that Opposition Members compla [6D [K complain about civil servants but did nothing when they were in power. Inst [4D [K Instead, this Government are updating the performance management framework, [10D [K framework, incentivising those who deliver and tackling underperformance as [2D [K as soon as it arises. To do this, we are changing the rules to ensure a clo [3D [K closer, more effective link between pay and performance, with larger awards [6D [K awards for the highest performers, and strengthening the minimum standards [K so that those who fail to manage the performance of their teams are quickly [7D [K quickly identified.
▸
Assessment & feedback
The Government's response did not provide specifi [7D [K specific details on addressing poorly performing civil servants costing con [3D [K constituents millions each year. Instead, it focused on framework updates w [1D [K without concrete actions or timelines for underperforming staff.
Response accuracy