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The British prime minister should disband the Cabinet Office and make big decisions with just a handful of key colleagues, according to a report to be presented on Monday by former prime ministers Sir John Major and Gordon Brown.
The report by the Institute for Government think tank says the state machinery around the prime minister is “weak” and “incapable” of carrying out its role and holding Whitehall accountable.
The IfG said the “centre” of government – Downing Street, the Cabinet Office and the Treasury – needed radical reforms, including a new executive committee of ministers and the division of the Cabinet Office.
Britain’s system of executive power, in which the prime minister heads a large cabinet of ministers who run departments, first emerged in the 18th century and “worked well” for a time, the IfG.
“[But] cracks have emerged in recent decades. The UK has become a highly centralized country with a closed and weak centre,” according to the report.
The review, to be launched by former Conservative and Labor prime ministers Major and Brown, is the result of a year-long “commission on the center of government” convened by the IfG.
Among the commissioners were former Tory chancellor Sajid Javid, Labor Baroness Sally Morgan and peer Baroness Louise Casey on the Benches.
Among its seven key recommendations, the commission called for the creation of a cabinet executive committee, made up of a handful of ministers appointed by the prime minister, to make strategic decisions.
The cabinet, which has 32 members, has become “too big”, the IfG said. The smaller committee would distill the government’s priorities and agree fiscal rules, spending plans and departmental budget allocations. These would then be approved by the full cabinet.
“The executive committee, and the center as a whole, need to be more open to external expertise through both formal and informal means,” the report adds.
Other recommendations included restructuring Number 10 and the Cabinet Office into a Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), as well as a separate Department for the Civil Service.
Currently the Cabinet Office, led by the Cabinet Secretary, has the dual responsibility of supporting the Prime Minister in ensuring the effective functioning of government, while also managing the public administration.
A new DPMC would better support the prime minister’s executive leadership, the report says, while unbundling civil service management would allow for a greater focus on modernization and reform.
The report also recommends splitting the work of cabinet secretary and head of civil service, arguing that the two roles are not easily combined and require different skills from senior mandarins.
The proposal had previously been trialled during Lord David Cameron’s tenure for almost three years, but critics complained that splitting the civil service leadership in two left the institution without a strong, authoritative voice.
Furthermore, the report called for the drafting of a statute for the Civil Service Council to clarify its organizational structure, improve the accountability of senior public officials and improve the implementation of reforms.
The report calls on the Prime Minister to strengthen the currently vacant role of First Secretary of State with policy responsibilities for both the delivery of government priorities and the civil service.
The year-long commission was chaired by IfG director Hannah White and vice-chaired by historian Sir Anthony Seldon.
Sue Gray, chief of staff to Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, was among dozens of officials and academics who gave evidence to the IfG commission, according to people familiar with the matter.
The publication of the report comes as the opposition party is considering how best to implement Starmer’s plans for a “mission-led government” if he enters Downing Street. Opinion polls point to a Labor victory in the general election expected later this year.