Civil Service: Specialists

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 11:13 am on 16 February 2006.

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Photo of Lord Bassam of Brighton Lord Bassam of Brighton Government Whip, Government Whip 11:13, 16 February 2006

My Lords, the Professional Skills for Government programme is designed to see the end of the era of the gifted amateur. We are trying to work much harder to ensure that there is a strong core profession in the Civil Service. Generalists are important, but we need to ensure that we have that professional expertise. There are many professions throughout the Civil Service, and our Government are committed to ensuring that we raise the quality of professionalism in the Civil Service. That is an important aspect of our modernisation programme.