Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour). It was answered on Thursday, 16 February 2006.

Civil Service: Specialists

Question: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply, but do the Government realise that, because of their highly specialised education, scientists and technical experts in the UK need the same broad training about institutions and policy that the Government provide to policy-making civil servants and to parliamentary staff? Does he realise that, unless something is done, the Government will have continuing difficulty in promoting specialists to senior managerial positions in the Civil Service and specialist agencies?

Answer: Yes, my Lords, of course we recognise the value of specialist staff; they represent about one-third of the senior Civil Service. In 2004–05, we recruited 169 civil servants from outside the Civil Service; of those, 63 had recorded specialist skills. The Professional Skills for Government programme exists precisely to ensure that all senior staff are given the right balance of training and support to deliver the business for which they are responsible. Our approach to core skills is designed to ensure that all specialist senior staff are given the support that they need to operate in central government.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 678 c1255-6
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Related items: Deposited Paper HDEP 2006/199
Thursday, 9 March 2006
Deposited papers
House of Lords
Subjects: Civil servants Career development Training Senior civil servants Scientists
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk