Why plans to shake up the civil service will be filed in a Whitehall bin

Former Tory minister Lord Maude’s review is expected to propose swingeing reforms but cutting the Treasury down to size has a long history of failure, as Sean O’Grady explains

Francis Maude has some thoughts about the civil service (Justin Sutcliffe)

There’s been a leak – inevitably – of a government-commissioned review into the future of the civil service, possibly inspired by civil servants who don’t especially like being reviewed.

The review, by former Tory minister Lord Maude, is expected to recommend scrapping the post of cabinet secretary, breaking up the Treasury and letting ministers pick top civil servants (presumably from outside Whitehall). The report will be published later in the autumn.

Who is Lord Maude?