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Fresh from his review into university tuition fees, former BP boss Lord Browne will make his next mark in Whitehall as government's lead non-executive director. Having made the rounds of the great and the good, an eagerly awaited list of new lead non-executive directors will be published soon to populate the remaining departments. Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office hopes by appointing captains of industry to galvanise boards as forums that drive up performance, seeing departments through the challenges of the current spending round. In some respects, this is an extension of government's desire to co-opt ‘push and go' men capable of shaking things up from Sir Eric Geddes at the time of Lloyd George to Sir Peter Gershon in recent years. Research undertaken by the Institute for Government shows that the best boards focus heavily on performance management and meet regularly with ministers to shape joint strategy. The think tank also recommends that all boards should place greater emphasis on performance and financial management. For the first time secretaries of state will chair the boards, now centrally placed to answer the perennial leadership question. This move also alters the dynamics of the boards, whose remit will expand to provide strategic leadership, develop and monitor departmental business plans and scrutinise policy delivery. The announcement is expected to clarify the power of the non-executive over the permanent secretary – reportedly a source of ongoing tension. Given how the final detail of the CSR was agreed in October, there's a risk that the continual process of monthly progress updates could revise original coalition objectives out of all recognition In such a scenario, and with the National Audit Office breathing down their department's neck, permanent secretaries and senior officials might feel justified in saving their minister's face and the day with a cunning plan. But under the new remit, if they judge that the permanent secretary is serving Whitehall fudge and an obstacle to effective delivery, lead non-execs could recommend their removal from post. Who knows, before long Lord Sugar or a fellow peer could bark, ‘You're fired!' to hapless mandarins, if only to encourage the others. Jonathan Werran is editor of Governetz Public Property

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WHITEHALL

Inside View

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