On 12 March general secretary Fran Heathcote published on the PCS website a totally complacent statement in the face of huge potential attacks on PCS members.
At the same time, Marion Lloyd, NEC member and Broad Left Network-supported candidate for PCS President, publicly warned about the potential enormity of the attacks and called for an emergency NEC. The sitting president Martin Cavanagh responded that he saw “no need”.
But the next day, Heathcote put up a new totally different statement in response to Starmer’s speech, and the original statement has disappeared from the ‘news’ page and can only be found hidden away under the vague title ‘blogs’.
The tone is getting harder – because of the pressure from Marion and the BLN.
Of course stronger words is not the same as a fighting strategy to resist. Our call for an emergency NEC remains.
Marion Lloyd and the Broad Left Network are the real fighters. If they can force a change of tone now, imagine the difference a fighting president will make!
In the national elections, vote Marion Lloyd for PCS president and for the BLN-supported list of fighting candidates for NEC
Fran Heathcote – BEFORE Marion’s call to stand up to the government
12 March 2025
Update on the government’s Plan for Change
Fran has met with the Cabinet Office and stressed that any changes to the civil service must include agreements with PCS on pay restoration, job security and more flexible ways of working, including maximising access to homeworking.
In December 2024, the prime minister announced Labour’s “Plan for Change”, which set out Labour’s “Milestones for Mission-Led Government”. This week, alongside the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, Chris Wormald, he wrote to civil servants, praising them for their dedication and brilliance and inviting them to play their part in a rewiring of the British state to deliver the “Plan For Change”.
The prime minister indicated a desire to create a renewed civil service that is more agile, mission-focused and more productive, freeing staff from shackles of bureaucracy and the frustration of inefficiency, giving them better opportunities to develop their skills in priority areas like digital and leadership.
As part of the sequencing, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, set out to “fundamentally reshape the British state to deliver for working people and their families – with a single-minded focus to drive through the Plan For Change”.
He said that the government would draw a line under the approach taken by governments over the last decade, promising to reject rhetoric attacking brilliant civil servants for the constraints and bureaucracy they have had to work within; and called on civil servants to work together to reshape the state and ensure it is primed to deliver for working people.
However, in doing so, he also set out plans to introduce a new exit process termed “mutually agreed exits” for the civil service, plans to give managers more tools to address substandard performance, weed out underperformance amongst the highest paid civil servants and introducing a new pay-by-results system for them which links their wages to the outcomes they achieve.
Yesterday, I met with the parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, Georgia Gould, and the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, Cat Little, to discuss the announcements.
I impressed upon them that PCS is in favour of a national mission of renewal and changes to the civil service that help it deliver that mission. However, I made it clear that our members would need assurances on what it means for their futures and their working lives. I said that this must include agreements with PCS on pay restoration, job security and more flexible ways of working, including maximising access to homeworking.
They assured me that the talks we are currently engaged in on our wide ranging bargaining agenda with the new government would cover all of those issues; and that the government is keen to work with PCS on delivery of its renewal agenda.
There has been a report in The Guardian today claiming that proposals have been drawn up by a Labour think tank which amount to a “chainsaw” being taken to the civil service; and insinuating that this is influencing the government’s thinking.
Happily, this has been rebutted this afternoon by 10 Downing Street, rejecting what they called a “juvenile characterisation” of the government’s plans. They confirmed that the position set out at the weekend is not about slashing the state but is instead about reshaping the state so that it works for working people.
PCS will continue to engage in talks to secure improvements to your working lives and we will keep you fully informed of developments.
Update on the government’s Plan for Change | Public and Commercial Services Union
Fran Heathcote – AFTER Marion’s call to stand up to the government
13 March 2025
PCS response to PM’s speech on civil service reform
PCS has called for unions to be fully consulted on any proposals for changing the way our members work in response to the prime minister’s speech outlining plans for civil service reform, including greater use of artificial intelligence.
During his speech in Hull this morning, Keir Starmer said he was committed to reforming public services and Science and Technology secretary Peter Kyle warned on Sky News this morning that the headcount of the civil service “will go down” as artificial intelligence is used in government departments to drive improvements. He cited a report his department led, which found there was £45 billion worth of productivity and efficiency savings to be made within government if it embraced AI.
Responding to the prime minister’s “Plan For Change” speech, PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote said: “The prime minister says that he is rewiring the British state to deliver the ‘Plan For Change’.
“A key milestone in that plan is raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom. Our members have a key role to play in delivering that; and the government needs to ensure their interests are taken into account by providing them with job security and good pay and conditions.
“We agree technology has a part to play in improving public services and enhancing our members’ job satisfaction, but we are also clear that it cannot be used as a blunt instrument to cut jobs.
“Better public services and better front-line delivery will require human beings making empathetic decisions, not automatons incapable of understanding people’s needs.
“Any proposals for changing the way our members work must be done in full consultation with the unions.
“Labour says it is fixing the state so that it works for working people. Civil servants are working people, so this plan must also work for them.”
PCS response to PM’s speech on civil service reform | Public and Commercial Services Union
