10,000 civil service jobs could be lost due to target saving
More than 10,000 civil servant jobs could be cut as part of Labor’s bid to make 5% savings in its departments, a government source has said.
The number of employees in the civil service topped 513,000 this year, an increase of 33% on 2016 levels and the eighth consecutive year of total increase, According to government institution,
Ministers have now acknowledged that civil service numbers are “going to swell and realistically will not be able to continue,” the source told the BBC.
On Monday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves Expenditure review initiated Which will force ministers to make budget cuts before the 2029 general elections.
Current spending plans mean ministers will face difficult choices over how to allocate money in the subsequent years of this Parliament.
To save money, ministers are already considering voluntary redundancy schemes across various departments.
A government spokesperson said the plans were to ensure “every part of the government is working”. Priorities.
“We are committed to making the civil service more efficient and effective with bold measures to improve skills and use new technologies,” the spokesperson said.
But a government source told the BBC there was recognition that the civil service had become too large and unwieldy.
The Government is already risking a confrontation after unions reacted angrily to proposals for a 2.8% pay rise for teachers, NHS staff and senior civil servants next year. Inflation – which measures changes in prices over time – is projected to average 2.6% next year.
Last week Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer drew The anger of one of the largest civil service unions After claiming that “too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the lukewarm bath of managed decline”.
Pat McFadden, minister in charge of the Cabinet Office, echoed the PM’s comments on Monday When announcing plans for changes in civil service recruitment To force the government to “think a little more like a start-up”.
McFadden said he did not have a “headcount target” in the civil service, claiming his focus was on making officials more productive.
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect trade union, said: “We need a clear plan for the future of the civil service that goes beyond the blunt headcount targets that have failed in the past.
“This plan needs to be developed in partnership with civil servants and their unions, and we look forward to deeper engagement with the Government in the coming months.”
