Rachel Reeves is set to strip the UK’s Civil Service of £2billion of funding a year which, unions warn, could result in tens of thousands losing their jobs. The Chancellor and Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden will reportedly order all government departments to cut adminstrative costs by 15% over the next five years.
Mr McFadden will demand that the efficiency drive focus on HR, office management and government communications roles in a letter. Unions have suggested that the cuts would represent about 10% of the total Civil Service salary bill.
“To deliver our Plan for Change, we will reshape the state so it is fit for the future. We cannot stick to business as usual,” a Cabinet Office source told The Telegraph.
“By cutting administrative costs we can target resources at front-line services – with more teachers in classrooms, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat.”
“Cuts of this scale and speed will inevitably have an impact on what the Civil Service will be able to deliver for ministers and the country,” Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union said.
“The budgets being cut will, for many departments, involve the majority of their staff.
“The idea that cuts of this scale can be delivered by cutting HR and comms teams is for the birds. This plan will require ministers to be honest with the public and their civil servants about the impact this will have on public services.”
Mike Clancy, the general secretary of Prospect union, said: “Government must remember that a cheaper Civil Service is not the same as a better Civil Service.
“Civil servants in all types of roles help the public and deliver the Government’s missions. Cutting them will inevitably have an impact that will be noticed by the public.”
The move means ministers will decide how it would be best to meet the targets set for Whitehall departments, and some efficiencies could be made by improving procurement in order to get better value for money on public contracts, it is thought.
It is also believed that departments could make savings using technology, particularly AI for administration.
The bulk of the cuts, however, are expected to come from cutting the number of civil servants.