Individual Essay
In an article published by the MailOnline, James Tapsfield described some changes introduced by the current Tory government to the renown British Civil Service, which have been blamed for senior staff departures. He wrote:
Dominic Cummings has moved No10 aides into a new ‘mission control’ as part of a drive to sharpen up government. The maverick aide (…) has introduced a Nasa-style set-up in the Cabinet Office. The open-plan space is being used by a tight-knit circle of advisers, with socially-distanced desks grouped into policy areas overseen by Mr Cummings and data guru Ben Warner. Big screens are also being deployed to display detailed metrics about progress with policies and the coronavirus crisis – in keeping with the former Vote Leave head’s determination to make government more data-driven. (…) [Cummings also expressed concern about] ‘the abject failure of the senior civil service to think about high performance project management.’
Drawing on at least two readings discussed in class so far, evaluate this approach by Cummings and its potential advantages and disadvantages. If you were an aide to Boris Johnson, would you agree with this approach, or not?
Source: “Ground control to Major Dom! Maverick No10 chief smartens up his act as he moves senior aides into new Nasa-style Whitehall hub
