Fear and lack of morale revealed at Treasury

TREASURY civil servants fear for their jobs, feel they are not given due respect and think bosses keep them in the dark, according to Sir Terry Burns, their Permanent Secretary. He said there was 'a lot of unhappiness' about the way the department was run, writes Robert Chote.

Morale among Treasury officials has been undermined by criticism of its management of the economy and uncertainty about an internal study of Treasury operations and staffing.

'This has caused many staff to worry about job security and promotion prospects,' Sir Terry said. 'There is a feeling that we are bad at avoiding bureaucracy and having an open style of management. There is a demand for senior management to provide leadership and communication about the management changes that are necessary.'

Sir Terry was describing the results of a recent internal survey of the Treasury's 1,400 staff in a lecture at Durham University. His speech provoked fresh criticism of Sir Robin Butler, the Cabinet Secretary, for trying to block the Treasury Select Committee's request for a wider survey of civil service morale.

Sir Terry also said the Treasury should spend less time second-guessing the spending of other departments.