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A new report details a steady decline in standards since 2022
Labour ministers have been told to "get a grip" after damning Government evidence revealed "standards are dropping" among top civil servants.
Although meant to justify pay decisions, the submission to the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) covering pay for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) shows a trending decline in standards among permanent secretaries - the Government's most senior, non-political civil servants.
The document shows the performance of permanent secretaries has dropped year-on-year since 2022/23.
The percentage of those whose performance met the "exceeding" rating sat at just 12 per cent in 2022/23 and now sits at eight per cent for 2024/25.
The same trend follows the lower ratings with "high-performing" now sitting at 13 per cent, having fallen from 30 per cent in 2022/23.
"Achieving" - second only to "low" performance - is the only metric in which the SCS has seen a rise, growing from 58 per cent to 79 per cent since 2022/23, suggesting a surge in grades that barely cut the mustard.
Over the recorded three years, the percentage of top civil servants in the "low" performance rating has remained at zero per cent, but could see a surge in the upcoming 2025/26 report following multiple sackings and resignations.
Ameer Kotecha, CEO of the Centre for Government Reform, told GB News: "These figures suggest that standards are dropping amongst heads of Whitehall departments.
"But it also shows the complacency of the civil service - I don’t think the public would agree that 100 per cent of Whitehall bosses are meeting or even exceeding their briefs and targets.
"A system claiming that zero per cent are low performers suggests an insufficiently demanding performance management system which has long been one of the civil service’s failings.
"Ministers need to get a grip on the situation. We will only see public services improve once we begin properly holding to account those charged with delivering them."
Among those who were sacked or resigned is Sir Peter Schofield, who stepped down as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) following parliamentary committee criticism over benefit mismanagement and a perceived "culture of complacency" last month.
Olly Robbins was sacked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in April from his position as Foreign Office permanent secretary over an "unforgivable" failure to report high-concern security vetting red flags regarding Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
Sir Chris Wormald, who served as a permanent secretary for two major Government departments before becoming the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, was forced out by mutual agreement amid negative media reports and political fallout, receiving a payout of about £250,000 in February.
Seemingly not reflected in the data 2022/23 was the dismissal of former Treasury permanent secretary, Sir Tom Scholar, who was let go by Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng on their third day in office.
Conservative MP Neil O'Brien told the People's Channel: "Poor performance management gets right to the heart of the malaise in the Civil Service.
"These new figures expose a rating system for our top civil servants that looks more like a primary school report card than the rigorous appraisals used by successful businesses, and lays bare the lack of accountability for poor performance.
"The taxpayer has a right to demand a more efficient and better run Civil Service.
"That starts with recognising and promoting top performers, and identifying and managing out those who are not up to scratch. We cannot afford to keep rewarding mediocrity at the top of Whitehall."
Under a revised rating system, the previous "Low" rating has been replaced with "Partially Met" however, if staff do not meet those requirements, staff are still placed in the "Partially Met" category.
The report states: "Those who receive a Not Met assessment for the minimum standards must be automatically deemed to be Partially Met in their overall performance, regardless of how they perform against their wider objectives."
This is further reiterated within the report, which says whilst detailing performance reviews: "As with the quarterly conversation, the line manager must first make an assessment as to whether the individual has met the minimum standards.
"A binary Met or Not Met assessment must be given. If the individual receives a Not Met assessment, they must automatically receive a partially met overall marking for the performance year.
"If a member of the SCS is deemed not to be meeting the minimum standards at any point in the performance year, or is otherwise rated as Partially Met for two consecutive quarters, their line manager must draw up a performance development plan immediately.
"They should also provide the individual with the necessary support to improve their performance and schedule regular (monthly at a minimum) review meetings to evaluate improvement."
The report also explains what the new expected ratings for the roles are.
It continues: "Since 2018/19, there has been no forced distribution for the SCS. However, as with any normal large organisation, we continue to recommend to departments that performance differentiation is expected to take the shape of a curve, with the highest proportion of SCS falling in achieving.
"To ensure consistency of outcome across the SCS, given this group is a centrally managed cadre, the Cabinet Office has set an expected distribution for performance ratings."
The new expected ratings are Exceeded - 15 per cent, High Performing - 20 per cent, Achieving - 60 per cent, Partially met - five per cent.
Importantly, the report is clear in saying that these ratings are not a requirement and are more of an effort to gain "consistency".
