Reflections on Retirement
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207679400900102 |
| Author | Patrick Nairne |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
3
Reflections
on
Retirement
Sir
Patrick
Nairne
This
is
a
rare
and
remarkable
event:
the
publication
of
the
reflections
on
retirement
of
two
of
Whitehall’s
most
distinguished
permanent
secretaries.
Readers
of
this
journal
will
know
that
they
cannot
expect
indiscreet
disclosures
or
revealing
anecdotes.
The
contrast
between
what
former
ministers
choose
to
relate
and
what
retired
officials
are
able
to
write
is
one
rather
striking
illustration
of
the
difference
between
their
roles
and
responsibilities
in
government.
Sir
Michael
Quinlan
and
Sir
Terry
Heiser
have
admirably
done
what
the
Editors
invited
them
to
do -
to
respond
in
particular
to
the
question :-
&dquo;How
have
the
organisation
and
management
arrangements
of
Whitehall
been
developed
or
adapted
to
meet
a
changing
world
scene,
the
economic
and
political
evolution
of
the
European
Community,
the
environmental
challenge,
and
the
requirements
of
greater
bureaucratic
efficiency?&dquo;
Their
answers
have
reflected
the
major
initiatives
taken
by
the
Conservative
Government
over
the
last
15
years.
What
we
have
are
two
clear
accounts,
from
the
perspective
of
two
different
departments,
of
the
major
changes
in
management
culture
and
practice,
and
in
organisational
structure,
of
the
Civil
Service.
The
personal
testimony
of
Sir
Michael
and
Sir
Terry
is
invaluable;
but
it
unavoidably
leaves
us
with
a
sense
of
frustration -
a
feeling
which
is
increased
by
the
stimulating
article
by
Peter
Barberis
on
&dquo;Permanent
Secretaries
and
policy-
making
in
the
1990s.&dquo;
Quinlan
was
the
Permanent
Secretary
of
the
Department
of
Employment
and
then
of
the
Ministry
of
Defence
in
the
period
described
in
his
memoirs
by
Lord
Young
(one
of
the
ministers
he
served)
as
’The
Enterprise
Years’,
and
in
which
dramatic
international
developments
suddenly
brought
the
cold
war
to
an
end.
Heiser
was
at
the
top
of
the
Department
of
the
Environment
during
the
exacting
years
which
included
the
catastrophe
of
the
community
charge,
the
privatisation
of
water,
and
drastic
changes
in
the
functions
and
treatment
of
local
government.
There
is
little
or
no
mention
of
any
of
these
events.
We
have
no
indication -
though
we
could
not
expect
any -
of
the
advice
they
gave
on,
and
the
view
they
took
of
some
notable
decisions
of
policy.
We
can
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