Blogging for bureaucrats: a new Labour surprise

Some time ago, at the height of the Civil Serf controversy, it was announced that the Cabinet Office would be looking to define some guidelines for civil servant bloggers. I wasn't confident... but am pleasantly surprised to see what has emerged.

In an era of massively verbose legislation, statutory instruments and guidance, Tom Watson has come up with the following:

Be credible

Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.

Be consistent

Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation. Be cordial, honest and professional at all times.

Be responsive

When you gain insight, share it where appropriate.

Be integrated

Wherever possible, align online participation with other offline communications.

Be a civil servant

Remember that you are an ambassador for your organisation. Wherever possible, disclose your position as a representative of your department or agency.

It must be considered that, for once, there is a liberal view of the world emerging from a dusty corner of our government. There is a degree of trust displayed here that asks serious questions of civil servants, i.e. are we up to the challenge of balancing information with confidentiality, openness with political neutrality?

Interestingly, I see some potential for innovative interaction with the accountancy profession and taxpayers. There is plenty of information available on the legal framework within which the taxation system works. However, information on how to find the person best equipped to help you is more difficult. I often speak to taxpayers or accountants who have spoken to three or four people in a frustrating attempt to find the right someone. Taxpayers, particularly, struggle because they are not au fait with the language of taxation, and are bewildered by terms such as 'period of account' or 'accounting period' (not necessarily the same thing). Often, our systems make little sense without the underlying context and appear to be simply a set of hoops that we make people jump through.

The real question for middle management is, "do you have the confidence to allow experimentation?". Now, there I have less confidence. In an era of change, risk-taking has become less frequent and reliance on the letter of the instructions.

However, on the whole, this is a good thing, and I believe that there is a potential to drag the UK Civil Service into the Century of the Fruitbat... I shall watch with interest...