Newly published guidance on diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service does not directly reference a ban on rainbow lanyards worn by staff that Esther McVey had suggested.
The Cabinet Office minister, informally referred to as the “common sense minister”, announced a crackdown on Monday on “inappropriate backdoor politicisation” in Whitehall, saying officials should be leaving their political views “at the building entrance”.
Ms McVey, who attends Cabinet as a minister without portfolio, said civil servants should wear “standard design” lanyards – appearing to indicate that the colourway used to express support for LGBT+ issues should not be used.
The guidance makes clear that civil servants must not allow their personal political views to determine their actions or any advice they give related to diversity and inclusion in any part of their employment
A refresh of the guidance provided to civil servants on their duty to remain impartial was published on Tuesday night, which said they must “always be guided by the core values of objectivity and impartiality set out in the Civil Service code when carrying out work in diversity and inclusion”, but made no direct reference to staff lanyards.
The guidance said the Civil Service’s diversity and inclusion strategy was aimed at ensuring such values were “mainstream”, while adding there was no requirement for “homogeneity or conformity of belief or views”.
It also said that while civil servants “must have a shared goal to tackle discrimination and prejudice, views on how to practically address issues relating to diversity and inclusion are varied”.
The guidance advised civil servants against “presenting subjective views or theories relating to diversity and inclusion as accepted fact or as the position of their organisation”.
In a written statement published at the end of the Commons sitting day on Tuesday, Ms McVey said: “The guidance makes clear that civil servants must not allow their personal political views to determine their actions or any advice they give related to diversity and inclusion in any part of their employment.”