Andrew Lansley: Called for investigation

The Conservatives have joined civil service unions in expressing fears that the Labour government is undermining the independence of the civil service.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Andrew Lansley has written to Sir Richard Wilson, the head of the civil service, asking him to investigate whether government press releases appearing on the Labour Party website are a breach of the civil service code.

Lansley says Labour's use of government press releases without acknowledging the source may breach of the code which states that civil servants should not "engage in activities likely to call into question their political impartiality, or to give rise to criticism that people paid from public funds are being used for party political purposes".

The Conservatives are stepping up the pressure on Labour after the union representing Whitehall's top officials said new laws to protect its members from political pressure were vital because of the changes begun by Tony Blair.

The First Division Association, which represents 11,000 senior Whitehall workers, says that as the pace of reform changes legislation is needed to protect its members' traditionally impartial role. Civil servants are worried that they may see their roles changed to a French system where department heads and policy advisors are political appointees who are brought in with each new government.

Officials are confident that TUC delegates will overwhelmingly pass a motion at its conference next week demanding new legislation and limits on the growing number of special advisers, who are now costing the government £3.6 million a year.

In its motion, the FDA calls for a halt to "the growing trend for the government of the day to use senior civil servants as direct representatives on their behalf, in turn making it more difficult for civil servants to fulfill their role in offering independent and impartial advice".

It calls for a Civil Service Act that will "establish clear principles, for this and future governments, which define the role of the civil service and clarify the boundaries between it and elected governments".

Simon Moore of the FDA explained why the issue had risen now, given that the Civil Service has been in a state of reform for over 20 years.

"We've put forward the motion more as a preventative measure. A lot has happened over the last few years. The rise of special advisers is a new development and the modernising government agenda of the last couple of years has also quickened changes. There are moves to develop the civil service and bring in more people from outside. We believe legislation is necessary now before further changes are made," he said.

Lansley said the FDA was right to highlight the "creeping politicisation" on Whitehall. "Just a day after the civil service union criticised Labour for its attack on the impartiality of the civil service we find a very real example of this practice in action. Civil servants do not work for the Labour Party and their work should not be passed off as the party's own," he said.

"Labour seem to be unable to tell the difference between party and government. Civil servants are trained professionals, paid for by the British taxpayer. Our taxes should not be paying for the Labour Party to spread its propaganda," said Lansley.

He also backed the concept of a Civil Service Act but said it would only be any use if properly enforced. "Ministers are increasingly happy to ask civil servants to break the existing civil service code of conduct and, given their record, it is unlikely they would act any differently after legislation was passed," he said.

A senior backbench Labour MP has also given his backing to the union's campaign.

Tony Wright, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons public administration select committee, said it was "shameful" and "politically embarrassing" that the government had not enacted legislation to safeguard impartial civil servants from political pressure.

"The demarcation lines have to be transparent and properly policed. I think we've reached a point now where it's impossible not to legislate. It's now politically embarrassing and in some sense shameful that we haven't now had a Civil Service Act. The assumption is that there will be legislation and I think it would be appalling if there wasn't," Wright said.