Return of the Extended Ministerial Office?

In two important speeches this year, chief secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones became the latest in a long line of politicians calling for more specialist experience in Government to support delivery.Based on the success of the Vaccine Task Force, the Chief Secretary announced two ‘peacetime' task forces including external experts tasked with ‘bulldozing delivery obstacles', together with plans for new delivery units to be created in each department. In doing so, he added some early meat onto the bones of the King's Speech which promised to ‘strengthen the delivery, accountability, innovation and productivity' of the civil service. But could the model for bringing in external expertise be the Extended Ministerial Office, or EMO?EMOs were introduced back in 2013 following a research study commissioned by civil service reformer Francis Maude to provide additional, specialist capacity to ministers including ‘support for policy formulation, implementation, media handling…as well as the traditional private office function'. But, without ceremony – a mere tweak of the Ministerial Code – they were removed in 2017 by Theresa May.Ministers will always find a way of making external appointments as Darren Jones proposes, but the difference with the EMO was that it formalised the process - and was broadly welcomed. One Permanent Secretary saw the EMO role as like an ‘enriched strategy unit' able to ‘see the world in a different way'. With safeguards, the First Division Association recognised the appointment process as striking a ‘balance between the demands of ministers…and the necessity to have political objectivity'.I joined the Extended Ministerial Office in the Department of Communities and Local Government under Greg Clark and remained under Sajid Javid. I am biased, but the mix of policy, practical and communications experience injected by the appointment of some half a dozen outsiders was impressive. And observing the current tortuous twists and turns around the delivery of local government reform and devolution, the additional capacity of an EMO may, at the very least, not be unhelpful.Ministers will always find a way of making external appointments as Darren Jones proposes, but the difference with the EMO was that it formalised the process - and was broadly welcomed. One Permanent Secretary saw the EMO role as like an ‘enriched strategy unit' able to ‘see the world in a different way'. With safeguards, the First Division Association recognised the appointment process as striking a ‘balance between the demands of ministers…and the necessity to have political objectivity'.Of course, there was concern too, David Willetts warning that ‘bonkers EMOs' risked creating ‘a second structure of mini experts within [the] private office'. The practicalities could also be challenging, with appointments needing the personal approval of the Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary, and the need to mainstream the team into the Department. At least one member of the EMO would also report back on implementation - labelled by constitutional expert Robert Hazel as the ‘Downing Street nark'. Perhaps a factor Darren Jones will need to take account of!Our Communities and Local Government EMO was a group of five: two deployed civil servants (a high-flying academic and a leading property specialist in previous lives), a renowned social policy expert, a brilliant statistician and a secondee from local government (me).Enjoying the tacit support of the Permanent Secretary, and working closely with the special advisers, we were located next to the Secretary of State's office and overseen by an exceptional Private Secretary. We were there to support the implementation of policy and to provide a freer thinking external perspective.Value was added because we were clearly focused on the Secretary of State's delivery objectives, with space to be forward looking. Before we disbanded, we captured what we believed to be the essential qualities of an EMO which, in terms of delivery, still appear highly relevant. These included:Policy: Providing the Secretary of State with early policy input and advice, commenting on all significant submissions and working with directors and teams to inform and develop policy before submission.Relationships: Strengthening networks and relationships inside, outside and across government, offering a gateway for external thinking and conduit for sector intelligence, operating in the space between officials and Ministers.Co-ordination and progress: Supporting the co-ordination and joining-up of policy to reinforce clarity of purpose, chasing progress and helping overcome barriers to achieving priorities, creatively combining policies to suit particular locations.Communications: Supporting strategic communications, writing speeches, articles and text as required, managing a grid of strategic opportunities with Special Advisers.Their wider potential was also recognised. The chief executive of a leading council talked of the importance of feedback loops, with someone in Government able to convey the differing impact of policy on different places. Equally, the opportunity to test and strengthen policy informally, or lay the ground for implementation through such engagement, was important. On a personal level, our meetings could be wider and less transactional, to really understand issues of place.Despite these strengths, after the 2015 General Election only five Departments had formally adopted an EMO. Colleagues then went their own ways outside the civil service as EMOs were disbanded.So, is this the time for a return? For Darren Jones, it would give a simple and relatively tested way of bringing expert outsiders into the civil service, outside of normal recruitment channels. In supporting delivery, they would work within the department, rather than alongside it, providing additional capacity and experience. And while the required skillset may now differ, the flexibility of the EMO model could provide an off-the-shelf answer to the delivery conundrum the Chief Secretary wishes to solve.David Godfrey is director of Quintain Consulting Ltd

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POLICY AND POLITICS

Return of the Extended Ministerial Office?

By David Godfrey | 03 June 2026

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