Latest news with #CivilServiceCode
RTHK
07-07-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
'Enhanced national security in civil service course'
'Enhanced national security in civil service course' Ingrid Yeung says senior civil servants need to take greater responsibility in supervising subordinates. Photo: RTHK New national security guidelines for government workers will be incorporated in courses offered by the Civil Service College, according to Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung. In last year's Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee said public officers are duty bound to safeguard national security and called on government departments to review guidelines and codes. The Security Bureau announced last month that a new set of guidelines, detailing how civil servants can uphold national security in daily duties, will be released in due course. In an interview with RTHK marking her third year in John Lee's administration, Yeung said that although national security has already been included in the college's training courses, updates will be made once the new guidelines are released. 'External challenges and risks for national security are constantly shifting and manifesting in diverse forms, so our training has to be be continuously adjusted to align with changes in the external environment,' she said. The chief executive has also recently said he hopes to expand the roles and responsibilities for senior civil servants through the introduction of a 'senior civil servant accountability system'. Asked if that would place greater pressure on civil servants, Yeung noted that 'accountability for performance' is one of 12 core values outlined in the Civil Service Code and that the principle is well established and not new. 'What the chief executive requires is that senior officials should place greater focus on supervising their subordinates,' she said. "Senior civil servants, of course, have their own work responsibilities, but the higher their rank, the greater their responsibility to oversee others." Asked whether senior civil servants should be held accountable, Yeung stressed that each case was unique. Changes in the external environment can affect policy implementation while resource limitations may also have an impact, she said. Yeung stressed that pausing certain policies can be a responsible decision, given that new technologies or methods may emerge and indicate a better way to implement policies.
RTHK
07-07-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
'Enhanced national security in civil service course'
'Enhanced national security in civil service course' Ingrid Yeung says senior civil servants need to take greater responsibility in supervising subordinates. Photo: RTHK New national security guidelines for government workers will be incorporated in courses offered by the Civil Service College, according to Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung. In last year's Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee said public officers are duty bound to safeguard national security and called on government departments to review guidelines and codes. The Security Bureau announced last month that a new set of guidelines, detailing how civil servants can uphold national security in daily duties, will be released in due course. In an interview with RTHK marking her third year in John Lee's administration, Yeung said that although national security has already been included in the college's training courses, updates will be made once the new guidelines are released. 'External challenges and risks for national security are constantly shifting and manifesting in diverse forms, so our training has to be be continuously adjusted to align with changes in the external environment,' she said. The chief executive has also recently said he hopes to expand the roles and responsibilities for senior civil servants through the introduction of a 'senior civil servant accountability system'. Asked if that would place greater pressure on civil servants, Yeung noted that 'accountability for performance' is one of 12 core values outlined in the Civil Service Code and that the principle is well established and not new. 'What the chief executive requires is that senior officials should place greater focus on supervising their subordinates,' she said. "Senior civil servants, of course, have their own work responsibilities, but the higher their rank, the greater their responsibility to oversee others." Asked whether senior civil servants should be held accountable, Yeung stressed that each case was unique. Changes in the external environment can affect policy implementation while resource limitations may also have an impact, she said. Yeung stressed that pausing certain policies can be a responsible decision, given that new technologies or methods may emerge and indicate a better way to implement policies.
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Ex-deputy PM Therese Coffey claims civil servants advised her to break the law
Former deputy prime minister Baroness Therese Coffey has claimed she was advised by civil servants to knowingly break the law. Lady Coffey, who also held several other cabinet positions, including work and pensions secretary, health secretary and environment secretary, became a Conservative peer earlier this year. She told the House of Lords on Friday: 'There were several occasions when I was advised by civil servants to knowingly break the law. 'Now, they may have only been minor infringements, but I challenge about how is that possible under the Civil Service Code that, in your advice and in your inaction, you are advising me to knowingly break the law? And I wasn't prepared to do it.' Lady Coffey went on to recall another situation when she felt the Civil Service Code was not adhered to. She said: 'I learned that my shadow secretary of state had written to me on Twitter, and I knew it because he also published my response to him on Twitter. 'I'd never seen the letter from the shadow secretary of state. I had never seen the letter written in my name, but there it was: my response and my signature. 'And these sorts of things, unfortunately, in the Civil Service Code should be more serious than it was.' The Tory peer added: 'Sometimes people try and suggest it's just politicians trying to do this, that and the other. 'I'm not accusing the Civil Service, but their job is to try and manage and, ultimately, I could go on about another legal case where I was named as the defendant. 'I didn't know until a ruling had come against me, formally. 'These things, I'm afraid, do happen.' Her comments came as peers debated a report from the Constitution Select Committee entitled Executive Oversight And Responsibility For The UK Constitution. Lady Coffey was deputy prime minister in the Liz Truss government in September and October of 2022. After her brief premiership, Ms Truss took swipes at the Civil Service and blamed the so-called deep state for 'sabotaging' her. Speaking at a conference in the US in 2024, the former prime minister said: 'I wanted to cut taxes, reduce the administrative state, take back control as people talked about in the Brexit referendum. 'What I did face was a huge establishment backlash and a lot of it actually came from the state itself.' Ms Truss added: 'Now people are joining the Civil Service who are essentially activists. 'They might be trans activists, they might be environmental extremists, but they are now having a voice within the Civil Service in a way I don't think was true 30 or 40 years ago.'
North Wales Chronicle
04-07-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Ex-deputy PM Therese Coffey claims civil servants advised her to break the law
Lady Coffey, who also held several other cabinet positions, including work and pensions secretary, health secretary and environment secretary, became a Conservative peer earlier this year. She told the House of Lords on Friday: 'There were several occasions when I was advised by civil servants to knowingly break the law. 'Now, they may have only been minor infringements, but I challenge about how is that possible under the Civil Service Code that, in your advice and in your inaction, you are advising me to knowingly break the law? And I wasn't prepared to do it.' Lady Coffey went on to recall another situation when she felt the Civil Service Code was not adhered to. She said: 'I learned that my shadow secretary of state had written to me on Twitter, and I knew it because he also published my response to him on Twitter. 'I'd never seen the letter from the shadow secretary of state. I had never seen the letter written in my name, but there it was: my response and my signature. 'And these sorts of things, unfortunately, in the Civil Service Code should be more serious than it was.' The Tory peer added: 'Sometimes people try and suggest it's just politicians trying to do this, that and the other. 'I'm not accusing the Civil Service, but their job is to try and manage and, ultimately, I could go on about another legal case where I was named as the defendant. 'I didn't know until a ruling had come against me, formally. 'These things, I'm afraid, do happen.' Her comments came as peers debated a report from the Constitution Select Committee entitled Executive Oversight And Responsibility For The UK Constitution. Lady Coffey was deputy prime minister in the Liz Truss government in September and October of 2022. After her brief premiership, Ms Truss took swipes at the Civil Service and blamed the so-called deep state for 'sabotaging' her. Speaking at a conference in the US in 2024, the former prime minister said: 'I wanted to cut taxes, reduce the administrative state, take back control as people talked about in the Brexit referendum. 'What I did face was a huge establishment backlash and a lot of it actually came from the state itself.' Ms Truss added: 'Now people are joining the Civil Service who are essentially activists. 'They might be trans activists, they might be environmental extremists, but they are now having a voice within the Civil Service in a way I don't think was true 30 or 40 years ago.'
Leader Live
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
Ex-deputy PM Therese Coffey claims civil servants advised her to break the law
Lady Coffey, who also held several other cabinet positions, including work and pensions secretary, health secretary and environment secretary, became a Conservative peer earlier this year. She told the House of Lords on Friday: 'There were several occasions when I was advised by civil servants to knowingly break the law. 'Now, they may have only been minor infringements, but I challenge about how is that possible under the Civil Service Code that, in your advice and in your inaction, you are advising me to knowingly break the law? And I wasn't prepared to do it.' Lady Coffey went on to recall another situation when she felt the Civil Service Code was not adhered to. She said: 'I learned that my shadow secretary of state had written to me on Twitter, and I knew it because he also published my response to him on Twitter. 'I'd never seen the letter from the shadow secretary of state. I had never seen the letter written in my name, but there it was: my response and my signature. 'And these sorts of things, unfortunately, in the Civil Service Code should be more serious than it was.' The Tory peer added: 'Sometimes people try and suggest it's just politicians trying to do this, that and the other. 'I'm not accusing the Civil Service, but their job is to try and manage and, ultimately, I could go on about another legal case where I was named as the defendant. 'I didn't know until a ruling had come against me, formally. 'These things, I'm afraid, do happen.' Her comments came as peers debated a report from the Constitution Select Committee entitled Executive Oversight And Responsibility For The UK Constitution. Lady Coffey was deputy prime minister in the Liz Truss government in September and October of 2022. After her brief premiership, Ms Truss took swipes at the Civil Service and blamed the so-called deep state for 'sabotaging' her. Speaking at a conference in the US in 2024, the former prime minister said: 'I wanted to cut taxes, reduce the administrative state, take back control as people talked about in the Brexit referendum. 'What I did face was a huge establishment backlash and a lot of it actually came from the state itself.' Ms Truss added: 'Now people are joining the Civil Service who are essentially activists. 'They might be trans activists, they might be environmental extremists, but they are now having a voice within the Civil Service in a way I don't think was true 30 or 40 years ago.'
