Public Servant Lifestyle

The youngest minister for 100 years - Civil Service Minister Chris Leslie - talks to Alan Chadwick about public servants, the Civil Service, and his own career.

At just 29 years of age, Chris Leslie is the youngest minister for more than a century. In an exclusive interview, Chris, who has responsibility for the day-to-day affairs of the Civil Service, talks about public servants, the Civil Service, and his own career.

As parliamentary secretary, in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (based at the Cabinet Office) Chris supports Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, minister of state Barbara Roche, and Cabinet Office minister Lord Macdonald.

Chris Leslie was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, and grew up in Bingley, before attending Leeds University, where he studied for a degree in politics and parliamentary studies, and later an MA degree in industrial and labour studies.

Before becoming an MP, aged 24, in 1997, in the seat of Shipley, West Yorkshire, Chris worked as an administrator for Bradford District Labour Party and as a researcher to a member of the European Parliament.

He worked as an assistant, in the office of Gordon Brown MP, in 1993, and for US Congressman Bernie Sanders, in Washington DC, in 1992. Chris was a Councillor, with the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, from 1994 to 1998.

Chris Leslie served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Cabinet Office minister Lord Falconer, from 1998 to 2001. He was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, between 1997 and 1998.

Public Servant Lifestyle meets Chris at his Whitehall office

Chris Leslie On:

Rewarding Public Servants, and the Public Service Ethos

"We've been looking at the whole non-pay reward side of things -possible innovations, that we are able to look at, to try and make work a little bit more rewarding. It doesn't have always to be cash based.

"We're still, as most organisations are, taking incremental steps forward. Nobody has got any magic solutions.

"I'm a strong believer, myself, in the public service ethos. I do genuinely believe that there are plenty of people - myself included - who go into public service, not particularly with cash in mind, and yet we do have to find ways of rewarding people more effectively, and also proving that the public sector, and public servants, can be as efficient and as effective, in delivering, as any other organisation, in the private sector, voluntary sector.

"I believe very strongly, whether it's a management issue, or incentives for staff, there are changes we can make.

"There are some really good examples of excellence, in the public sector, that sometimes don't see the light of day. Because of the democratic system we live in, the spotlight tends to fall on those areas where there are problems, rather than where there are successes."

Chris Leslie On:

Getting To Know the Civil Service

"I'm making sure that we try and get out of Whitehall, where it is appropriate, that we don't just look inwardly - but also keep an eye on and learn from, the country as a whole. So I've been meeting with the unions, and other management teams, and various people.

"Fortunately for me, I've got Sir Richard Wilson (Cabinet Secretary). He is obviously closely involved in the issues which come to me for decisions.

"Most people imagine the Civil Service in 'Yes Minister', which was actually filmed mostly before my time. It's not as Machiavellian as all that - well I've not noticed it, anyway. But the Civil Service is pretty effective, and very professional. And I've been very impressed with the system so far, in terms of the issues that are brought to ministers.

"There are always the typical frustrations of the inertia that you can sometimes come across, when you are wanting to look at change, but that's natural to any institution, public sector or otherwise."

Chris Leslie On:

Civil Service Diversity

"One of the things I really want to bring out, a lot more, is the regional diversity of the Civil Service, and public service at large, and recognise that public sector isn't run from the capital alone - that it is an organisation that obviously has to cover the whole country.

"I'm quite keen to look at questions about the location of the Civil Service, and all these other issues. I think that a lot of regional issues sometimes haven't, and don't, get addressed, as perhaps they should.

"We all know that a lot of HQs, or senior management functions, have to be traditionally near the capital, or Parliament, or ministers.

"More and more, IT brings the capacity for greater diversity of all those regions. The closer you are to those that use the service, the better informed decisions can be."

Chris Leslie On:

Communication Within, and Between Departments

"Each department has their own different way of working, and I think some have developed quite differently to others.

"The Government Offices for the Regions have now come under the auspices of the Cabinet Office, and so we're able to again look, a bit more strategically, at how we can have co-ordination within each region, between the different departments themselves.

"So I think that there is quite a lot of scope for making sure that lessons can be learned from all these departments - we can have inter departmental exchanges as well - of information, and experiences, of government."

Chris Leslie On:

Departmental 'Incentive Overload'

"I think that the nature of government, in general, is to constantly respond to an insatiable demand for change. I don't think there's a desire to have it change, for change's sake. I think there are good reasons behind why change needs to take place. The public demand it. The media demand it. Parliament can demand it.

"I think that, particularly in the last 20 years, there has been a shift to a more consumer-orientated economy, and that has had an impact on what the public expect of public services, so those are difficult challenges, sometimes, for people who are, perhaps, in a profession for a very long time, to adapt to. But it does have to happen.

"That being said, there is a lot of good that is a continuum, in public service delivery. Basically the people who aren't just clocking on, or off, for their money, but really take pride in how well they solve a housing case, or how many people they patch up in an accident and emergency unit, whatever it may be. These are people who really enjoy their jobs, and thank goodness for that. We rely very much on them.

"I think change is part of the democratic system. But I think what we've got to do is, occasionally, have breathing space, so that you can bed down, and make sure that initiatives don't just come off thick and fast. Its essential the front line feels that they have ownership of the idea behind those changes, so they don't just look at them coming along willy-nilly, but they're part of a bigger picture, and bigger plan, they feel they own."

Chris Leslie On:

Career Breaks and Exchanges

"Not just internationally, I think we need to do it nationally, as well, into the front line, and not just one particular region. I want to see much greater inter-regional exchange and diversity. There is a need for a national diversity strategy on that, so that people can bring in the experiences that they actually see, into their later career."

Chris Leslie On:

Career Sacrifices, and His Job

"I have been extremely fortunate and perhaps a little lucky to have stood for Parliament, and been elected, twice in my own home town.

"I am enjoying the job immensely, and have not yet woken up in the morning, thinking 'how awful, I've got to go to work again!'.

"Politics is a constantly changing occupation, but being able to change things for the better, even in small ways, is very rewarding."

Chris Leslie On:

How He Switches Off From Work

"The same most people do - I tend to fall asleep, in front of the television."

Chris Leslie is now based at the Office Of The Deputy Prime Minister. His responsibilities for the Civil Service have now transferred to Mr Douglas Alexander.

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