FDA’s Jane Runeckles celebrates Special Adviser role during Wales Governance Centre Annual Lecture
FDA National Officer Jane Runeckles delivered the Wales Governance Centre Annual Lecture, reflecting on “the last 25 years doing an absolutely wonderful, privileged and challenging public service job” in her previous role as Chief of Staff and a senior Special Adviser in Welsh Government.
As a Special Adviser, Runeckles said she “became, over time, a bridge between the politics and the civil service machine, an experienced spotter and solver of problems and definitely a mediator.”
On the four words ingrained in every civil servant – integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality – Runeckles said: “I argue that the first three areas are as relevant to Special Advisers as any other employee of the government. Where the difference comes is with the last of those words: impartiality. But without Special Advisers, the civil service would struggle to remain impartial, and it is for that reason that special advisers are vital to civil servants as much as they are to ministers.”
Runeckles joined the FDA as a National Officer in March this year. “We defend the integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality of civil servants on a daily basis,” she explained. “It’s a shift that I hope removes any doubt from any of my former civil service colleagues that I recognised and respected their roles, and quite often, their brilliance”.
25 years of Welsh Government
25 Mlynedd o Lywodraeth Cymru
Wales Governance Centre Annual Lecture 2024 with Jane Runeckles.
Darlith Flynyddol Canolfan Llywodraethiant Cymru 2024 gan Jane Runeckles.
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FDA’s Jane Runeckles celebrates Special Adviser role during Wales Governance Centre Annual Lecture
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