How does Whitehall really work?

It can be hard to understand the workings of Whitehall. There are multiple departments, plus all their agencies and arms-length bodies. The policy-making landscape is complex and involves Whitehall, external stakeholders, and Parliament. This course will demystify how Whitehall works and will give participants a good insight into the practices and processes that the civil service and Ministers used to create policy. 

We will cover the informal and formal aspects of working in Whitehall.  The course is suitable for those who are working in Whitehall and may want a broader picture, but also for those who need to work with Whitehall and would like to understand the civil service and Government better. The trainer will use case studies and personal experiences from a long career at the centre of Whitehall to bring the issues to life.

At the Civil Service College, we tailor our courses to each participant’s role and organisation, ensuring that each participant gets the most out of the training. Our courses and trainers are continuously updated and evaluated to ensure that we are always delivering the best service possible.

Key Training Features

Who Can Attend

Learning Outcomes

Key Training Features:

• Introduction to Whitehall, the Civil Service and the Departmental/Agency/public bodies structure
• Understanding how business gets done in Government and how policy is developed across Whitehall
• How do Ministers operate?
• Formal and informal aspects of working in or with Whitehall
• Explanation of the interactions between Whitehall and Parliament
• Exploring the respective roles of Ministers, the Civil Service and Parliament

Who Can Attend:

Civil Servants and wider public sector employees who want an introduction to how the Civil Service and Government work. Also relevant to private-sector employees who need to work with Whitehall.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will get a good understanding of how Whitehall and the Civil Service operates from a formal and informal point of view. Participants will also cover the relationship between Whitehall and Parliament. Participants will have a good understanding of the different rules and responsibilities for Civil Servants, Ministers and Special Advisors.  Participants will also look at how to operate successfully within Whitehall (and how to engage with Whitehall if you are outside of it).

View course outline