The First Minister told the Assembly yesterday that the only way to prevent cuts in frontline services in Wales is by reducing the costs of overheads in the public sector. Will he start with the burgeoning bureaucracy of his own government? I doubt it.
The percentage increase in central administration for the Welsh Assembly Government this year was greater than that for local government, whilst there is evidence that many of the civil servants who used to work for now-defunct Quangos have been slotted into non-essential jobs, a regional tier for the education department for example.
The chances are that what Rhodri Morgan really means is that there will be less money for local Councils again and that the government will expect Council Leaders to make all the difficult decisions for them.
Kirsty Williams raised more fundamental concerns about the Welsh Government’s response to the recession and in particular the performance of Plaid Cymru Leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones. She said that the ProAct scheme is only helping tiny numbers of businesses, that the Flexible Support for Business Scheme is not being delivered across Mid Wales and that transport authorities still do not know what support the Government will give them, months after they should have finalised budgets for this year.
She added that “This is a critical time for the Welsh economy and it is becoming increasingly clear that much-needed support is reaching a tiny minority of those in need.”
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If this padding with non-jobs is true, then it does no good for central government, local government or, in the long run, for civil servants.
An extra layer of bureaucracy inhibits good decision-making and slows down communications. More money spent on central administration reduces support for local authorities.
And when politicians make cuts in public services, if they are not prepared to cut civil service posts, then real-term cuts in pay are the only outcome. These hurt civil servants across the board, and most of all those in the entry grades.