In a lecture at the London School of Economics, the UK's most senior civil servant, Antonia Romeo, set out a judgement that Whitehall has grown too cautious, too reactive and too inward-looking to meet the demands of a harder age. Her remedy is a new way of measuring and rewarding performance, paired with a firmer hand toward those who fall short, all pursued under the pressure of uncertainty from technology and geopolitics and of a tight public purse. It is one more chapter in a long political effort to make the state more nimble, and its real test will be whether the spring review turns thes
Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo Says Whitehall Is Too 'Tame, Reactive and Risk-Averse' and Pledges Reform
Poor performance drives out good performance
Mark
Why does it matter that the cabinet secretary said this in public?
Mimi
Because it's the head of the civil service describing her own institution as tame, reactive and risk-averse. Those are criticisms usually made from outside, and she said they must be addressed.
Mark
And Burnham was in the room.
Mimi
Yes, with Louise Haigh. Afterwards a government spokesperson said he backs her vision and wants to push power out of Whitehall to the regions.
Luke
Backing a vision isn't the same as agreeing detail, though. Nothing here says what the new performance system will actually look like.
Mimi
True. The concrete piece so far is the increased bonuses for high-performing senior staff, which she called just the start.
Mark
What about churn?
Mimi
She wants to stop officials moving sideways just to get pay rises, and reward people for staying in a job and finishing it.
Luke
Worth noting that's her description of the problem. The reporting gives no figures on how widespread churn or poor performance is.
Mark
And the AI argument?
Mimi
She says it can cut bureaucracy and make services more human, under guardrails. She's answering fears that it will replace officials.
Luke
It's a stated aim, not a result. We don't yet know what it means for jobs.
Mimi
The spring review of structures and the civil service code is where more detail should come.
Le Pouls
- Whitehall is publicly branded as tame, reactive and risk-averse, and the cabinet secretary is saying so out loud.
- Bonuses for senior staff have been raised, and the cabinet secretary calls that only the first step toward a wider overhaul.
- Poor performers are being framed as a drain that pushes out good work, and managers are being asked to act decisively.
- Officials who move sideways for pay rises rather than staying to finish the job are now a target for change.
- A spring review of departmental structures, the civil service code and AI's role is the next checkpoint, set against a tight fiscal squeeze.
In a lecture at the London School of Economics, the UK's most senior civil servant, Antonia Romeo, set out a judgement that Whitehall has grown too cautious, too reactive and too inward-looking to meet the demands of a harder age. Her remedy is a new way of measuring and rewarding performance, paired with a firmer hand toward those who fall short, all pursued under the pressure of uncertainty from technology and geopolitics and of a tight public purse. It is one more chapter in a long political effort to make the state more nimble, and its real test will be whether the spring review turns these words into structures that officials can feel in their working lives.
Antonia Romeo, the country's most senior civil servant, stood before an audience at the London School of Economics, with Andy Burnham and his deputy Louise Haigh among those listening, and told them that Whitehall has become too tame, too reactive and too averse to risk. She promised a "completely new approach" to managing the performance of civil servants, one that would reward those who deliver brilliant work, bring rare expertise and stay the course.
The backdrop is pressure from two directions. Artificial intelligence and global tensions have made the future harder to read, and public money is tight, with ministers weighing higher defence spending against the budgets of public services. Recent increases in bonuses for top senior staff, she said, were only the beginning.
The other half of the plan targets poor performance, which she described as something that drives out good work and goodwill. Managers are to be trained and equipped to reward the highest impact and to act decisively where it is lacking. She also named the habit of moving between posts to chase pay rises, rather than building a career by staying with a task.
On AI, she sought to calm fears that machines would replace officials, arguing instead that the technology could free people from paperwork so they can focus on judgement and human contact, with uses ranging from cancer screening to preventing homelessness. The next milestone is a spring review of how the service is organised, including its code and its response to AI and devolution.
Antonia Romeo, the UK's most senior civil servant, stood up at the London School of Economics with Andy Burnham and his deputy, Louise Haigh, in the audience. She used the lecture to tell them that Whitehall is too "tame, reactive and risk-averse". The cabinet secretary said she would bring a "completely new approach" to managing the performance of civil servants.
The setting matters. The source describes Burnham as sitting in the audience, and afterwards a government spokesperson said he "backs the cabinet secretary's vision for a civil service that is fit for the future". The spokesperson added that he is determined to "rewire the state", pushing power out of Whitehall and into the communities and regions it serves.
Romeo framed the case for change around two pressures. One is uncertainty brought by AI and by global political tensions. The other is money. She said fundamental reform to improve productivity was essential given the "tight fiscal context", at a time when ministers are working out how to pay for higher defence spending in future while protecting the budgets of public services.
Her pledge to "rewire" the civil service echoed commitments made under Keir Starmer's government. She said recent changes to increase bonuses for high-performing senior civil servants were "just the start". The new approach, she said, would "incentivise and reward brilliant delivery, valuable expertise and sticking it out to get the job done".
The other half of the plan concerns people who are not performing. "Poor performance drives out good performance and discretionary effort, and we must urgently address that," she said. She promised to strengthen processes, and to train and equip managers both to reward those making the biggest impact and to "take decisive action on poor performance".
She also targeted churn. Under the current arrangements, she indicated, some officials move sideways between jobs to secure pay rises, rather than being rewarded for staying in the same role. She wants to change that.
Romeo acknowledged that several common criticisms of the civil service have to be addressed: that it is "tame and risk-averse", "reactive, not strategic", and "siloed, not working across boundaries".
On AI, she addressed worries among some civil servants that the technology will be used to replace them. She argued it could make the civil service "more human" by cutting out bureaucracy and leaving officials to concentrate on creativity, interaction and decision-making. She pointed to uses ranging from healthcare screening for types of cancer to tackling the risk of homelessness, saying technology could make services "predictive, preventative and personalised", under appropriate controls and guardrails.
The spokesperson's statement tied this to the government's wider goals: embracing AI responsibly, cutting needless bureaucracy and rebuilding trust, to deliver better public services and growth "in every postcode".
The next marker is spring. Romeo is overseeing a review of how the civil service is organised, due then, alongside an update to its code. It will examine whether current departmental structures are the best option in an era of cross-cutting delivery, and what AI and "devolution by default" mean for the service.
Citations marquantes
We will strengthen processes and train and equip managers to reward those making the biggest impact, and take decisive action on poor performance.— Antonia Romeo, cabinet secretary
Burnham backs the cabinet secretary's vision for a civil service that is fit for the future.— Government spokesperson
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