Civil service jobs

In email to staff seen by i, Defra boss says cuts will "require prioritising what we can do and deliver" as Jacob Rees-Mogg claims it's "not a question of ...

Mr Johnson is understood to have told his Cabinet that the Civil Service should be cut by a fifth during an away day with ministers in Stoke-on-Trent as his Government comes under intense pressure to ease the pain of soaring prices Mr Rees-Mogg’s comments were rejected by Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union that represents civil servants, who said the Government will have to “choose what the reduced Civil Service will no longer have the capacity to do”. Her comments appeared to call into question Brexit Opportunties and Government Efficiency Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg’s claim that cutting the Civil Service by a fifth was “not a question of doing less” but of “doing things more efficiently”.

Analysis: policy aims to save money, but also chimes with government's suspicion of a public sector stuffed with pettifogging remainers.

Thomas, a former civil servant himself, says if part of the government’s motivation is to go to war with Whitehall, it won’t make this latest efficiency drive any easier. “They’ve no idea whether 90,000 is the right number. Frances Maude was brought in to recommend reforms.

Mark Serwotka of the PCS union said that job cuts would affect anyone relying on public services.

The Government needed civil servants to deal with the consequences of two unprecedented events: Brexit and the Covid pandemic. Taking national strike action is very much on the table.” The Prime Minister told the Daily Mail newspaper: “We have got to cut the cost of Government to reduce the cost of living.” Will they affect passports, borders or health? “This is not about efficiency. The Government is on a collision course with unions and faces the threat of a national strike over controversial plans to axe tens of thousands of jobs in the Civil Service.

Cabinet secretary Simon Case has told permanent secretaries that the PM has instructed him to work with Rees-Mogg, chancellor Rishi Sunak and Cabinet Office ...

The Cabinet Office and Treasury have both indicated that they do not have a clear way of defining “frontline” roles. So it’s not a question of doing less of, it’s doing things more efficiently.” Responding to a Freedom of Information request by CSW about how many frontline and non-frontline roles there are currently in the civil service, the Cabinet Office said it does not hold this data, adding: “Government is continuing to work to refine the available data within individual departments to provide the current view of the frontline and non-frontline workforce split.” “Ultimately they can cut the civil service back to 2016 levels, but they need to decide what the civil service must then stop doing as a consequence,” he said. Announcing the plans in an interview with the Daily Mail, Johnson said: “We have got to cut the cost of government to reduce the cost of living.” Boris Johnson has asked ministers and head of the civil service to come up with a plan to bring civil service staff numbers down to 2016 levels, meaning 91,000 roles – about a fifth of the current workforce – would be axed.

Boris Johnson told top Tories to cut the number of Whitehall officials by a fifth as he desperately scrambles to free up cash to ease cost of living ...

"To govern is to choose and ultimately this Government can decide to cut the civil service back to 2016 levels, but it will also then have to choose what the reduced civil service will no longer have the capacity to do. A Government spokeswoman said "the public rightly expect their Government to lead by example and run as efficiently as possible" as the nation faces rising costs. Will they affect passports, borders or health?" "The Civil Service must consider how we can streamline our workforce and equip ourselves with the skills to be an even more effective, lean and innovative service that continues to deliver for the people we serve." "The Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, Simon Case, wrote to all Permanent Secretaries yesterday saying that the Prime Minister has asked for a plan to return Civil Service workforce numbers to 2016 levels over the next three years. The Prime Minister is said to have told top Tories that the number of Whitehall officials should be cut by a fifth to bring the civil service to 2016 levels within a few years.

Unions warn strike action is "very much on the table" over the Prime Minister's plans to axe 91000 Civil Service jobs.

“They have lost a lot of talent already and a lot of people are thinking about leaving. The Prime Minister told the Daily Mail: “We have got to cut the cost of Government to reduce the cost of living.” Paul O’Connor, head of bargaining at PCS, told i if the cuts fall across the board “it is unlikely – in the event that the Government doesn’t change course and that we were to take industrial action – that any of those areas would remain untouched”.

Headcount reduction of 90000 civil servants is 'unrealistic' and poor way to manage government, says FDA union chief.

The big cuts to public services since 2010 have often proved an expensive error – these proposals risk doubling down on the mistake.” For them, these cuts to jobs come on the back of significant real terms cuts in pay. “That kind of ongoing efficiency is what the civil service does all the time.

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"They are vital to what the Government want to do, whether that is levelling up or pandemic recovery. Labour accused the Government of letting working people down through "pointless rhetoric and lack of action". "So unless we're undoing Brexit and can undo the pandemic it's unclear what exactly the Government means by this," he said. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that part of a civil servant's job is to "think of how we do things more efficiently", and they have already committed to 5% cuts in their budgets as part of the spending review. He suggested the billions saved could be used for tax cuts, saying: "Every pound the Government pre-empts from the taxpayer is money they can spend on their own priorities, on their own lives." "So dealing with the aftermath of Brexit and dealing with Covid, so there's been a reason for that increase, but we're now trying to get back to normal."

The Brexit Opportunities Minister said the 'simplest way' to make cuts was by not rehiring after staff departures.

But we’ve seen the passport office and the DVLA… public services to some people have not been delivered because of working from home,” he said. “Since then we’ve had to take on people for specific tasks. Mr Rees-Mogg also said he had seen “duplication” within Government departments, and that cutting staff numbers would mean personnel were used “as efficiently as possible.”

Boris Johnson is reported to have told ministers at an away day that they must return civil servant numbers to those of 2016, reducing overall headcount by a ...

Are they really saying they won’t replace people who leave in the Border Force or the MOD? pic.twitter.com/ik8FEz8nyn Tweeting about the comments, he asked: “Are ministers serious about what the consequences of these cuts would be? I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon”.

Mark Serwotka of the PCS union said that job cuts would affect anyone relying on public services.

The Government needed civil servants to deal with the consequences of two unprecedented events: Brexit and the Covid pandemic. Taking national strike action is very much on the table.” Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The Prime Minister told the Daily Mail newspaper: “We have got to cut the cost of Government to reduce the cost of living.” Will they affect passports, borders or health? “This is not about efficiency.

The plan to cut one in five civil service jobs caused alarm and dismay across government departments, after Johnson told his cabinet to spend the next month ...

While taking on the civil service, Johnson made a fresh call to get employees in the public and private sector back to the office after the pandemic. Experts also questioned the prime minister’s claim the cuts would help with the cost of living. But if the cuts hit GMB members in the Ministry of Justice it will have a massive impact on legal aid and everyone’s right to proper representation.” Permanent secretaries wrote to their departments on Friday, with some expressing regret at the way the news of cuts had been conveyed. At the same time, ministers have told trade unions they are also trying to return to previously defeated plans to cut redundancy packages in the civil service by up to 33%. He claimed it was necessary to shrink the size of central government to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Working from home is being used as an excuse for long weekends, says Cabinet minister in charge of efficiency.

Abi Tierney, director-general of the beleaguered Passport Office, said in a joint communique: “We’re conscious that the reporting comes on the back of recent media attacks on the Civil Service. These aren’t new, but are a bit more frequent at the moment. Mr Rees-Mogg said the Cabinet Office had suffered from the “duplication” of people’s jobs. An analysis by The Telegraph suggested that the biggest percentage growth in Civil Service numbers occurred in the Cabinet Office, Mr Rees-Mogg’s own department. One can't help but be suspicious about the desire to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.” In a further swipe at Whitehall, Mr Rees-Mogg backed the Prime Minister’s plans to cut 91,000 Civil Service jobs, out of 475,000, over the next three years. Mr Johnson is now pushing for a reduction in numbers to 2016 levels, with a promised saving of as much as £3.5 billion a year.

The Prime Minister has been repeatedly accused of failing to do enough to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Will they affect passports, borders or health?” he said. The Prime Minister is understood to have told his Cabinet on Thursday that the service should be cut by a fifth. Boris Johnson plans to slash 90,000 Civil Service jobs to free up cash for measures to ease the cost-of-living crisis with possible tax cuts.