This report explores how politicians, civil servants and public body leaders worked together under pressure during the pandemic, and says their relationship sometimes suffered from unclear accountability, a blame culture and poor cross-government communication. Based on interviews with senior civil servants, public body leaders and others close to government’s decision making, the report finds that the centre of government was often unaware of how public bodies worked. It sets out a series of recommendations to allow credible specialist organisations to lead in their spheres of expertise – rather than letting responsibilities fall between the cracks.
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