A new report has fuelled concern about the impartiality of the civil service under cabinet minister Francis Maude.

The Institute for Government report criticises the three civil service structures championed by Mr Maude in Australia, Brussels and France. It argues the new systems put in place in these countries has created confusing hierarchies of command and policy-making.
 
The report said: ‘The downside to these larger and more political offices is the greater potential for tension between the ministerial team and the rest of the department.'
 
But the study does state it would be acceptable for minister's private offices to be larger – and have joint-reporting roles to both the permanent secretary and the minister.
 
The prime minister David Cameron signalled last summer the UK does not want to go towards an ‘American-style' civil service, whereby permanent secretaries are political appointments, and secretaries of state have the power to choose top-tier roles.
 
But last December Mr Cameron vetoed the appointment of former Climate Change Committee chief, David Kennedy, to the position of permanent secretary of the Department of Energy and Climate Change – despite energy secretary Ed Davey having no issue with the appointment.
 
Concern about the politicisation of the civil service has consistently been an issue in the last few years. Only several months after the coalition government was formed, former DCLG secretary John Denham warned of ‘creeping politicisation' from departmental press releases, resulting in an apology from DCLG permanent secretary, Irene Lucas.