Remedial lessons in how to write and implement government policy are now being taught in primary schools, in order to try to close a capability gap that has been identified in the UK.
Latest studies have revealed that even those professionals who have worked their entire life in parliament have little or no idea how to draft legislation, how to adhere to a manifesto commitment or how to persuade the EU to do anything at all. Instead key skills for parliamentarians have become skewed in recent years towards filing expenses claims and obtaining non-executive positions at large corporations.
The latest drive for key governing skills will, it is hoped, create a new generation of capable and dynamic mandarins who will be able to drive efficient and effective change through Whitehall and give us the government that we deserve.
An unrelated scheme will seek to withdraw gold-plated public sector pensions and drive down the salaries in the public service sector, to ensure that the new generation of fully trained and skilled government operators will end up working in the private sector.