UK Government Plans Massive Layoffs Of Over 10,000 Civil Service Jobs

UK Ministers plan to implement large-scale layoffs after an increase in civil service jobs to more than 513,000 this year, a 34% increase from 2016.

The government plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs from the UK’s civil service as part of a cost-cutting measure to use the funds for essential needs.

UK Ministers plan to implement large-scale layoffs after an increase in civil service jobs to more than 513,000 this year, a 34% increase from 2016.

These reductions are necessary to meet the budget outlined by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who wanted to address unnecessary spending and identify savings of 5% in each department. So, every department will plan how to implement these cuts.

An official familiar with the matter indicated an understanding among government members that to stop the growth of civil service, 2024 would mark the eighth consecutive year of headcount increases. The previous Conservative government had pledged to remove around 66,000 jobs.

The government took office in July after defeating the ruling Conservative government. It has already made many unpopular choices to improve its finances, such as Prime Minister Keir Starmer reducing the winter fuel payment handed to the senior people and Reeves’s October budget announcement that increased the taxes on companies and farmers.  

Reeves stated that these measures are necessary to solve the £22 billion ($28 billion) deficit that Labour claimed the previous government did not address.

Cutting the jobs would free up funds that the government can use on ‘priority areas,’ like economic growth, clean energy investment, and NHS reforms, but it may ruin its strained relationship with officials.

Last week, Starmer remarked that too many people in the Whitehall have become comfortable in a period of gradual decline.

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union for senior civil servants, criticized the move to cut civil servants jobs.

After the criticism, Starmer expressed his gratitude in a letter to Penman for their invaluable commitment to public service while acknowledging that current systems are failing.

A government spokesperson stated that they are committed to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Civil Service, with bold strategies to increase their skills by leveraging the latest technologies.

The spokesperson added that the government is ensuring that every sector is focusing on meeting the needs of working people, including delivering growth, increasing disposable income, bringing back the NHS, rebuilding the country, and securing the borders in a decade of national renewal.

Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden stated in a speech on Monday that he wishes the civil service to operate like a startup. He insisted that there is no specific target for headcount but expressed his intention of making people more productive with the help of the latest technology.

When Gordon Brown left office in 2010, the civil service had around 490,000 people. However, it was later reduced to around 380,000 after years of budgetary constraints under David Cameron and George Osborne during the austerity period.

It gradually increased during Brexit and the pandemic to reach its current size of 513,000. Last year, it increased by almost 5%.

Alex Thomas, program director at the Institute for Government, which has advocated for a strategic approach to the civil service workforce, said it was wise not to establish a strict target for reducing headcount.

Two years ago, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative minister for government efficiency, proposed to cut the civil service by 66,000 individuals.

Thomas finds having a headcount target problematic since it creates many negative incentives in the system, usually to dispose of larger groups of inexpensive employees who are easier to let go.

He adds that setting a reduced budget or some efficiency target is more sensible, and one will expect that it will lead to fewer people being employed, but it achieves it without negative incentives.  

The likelihood of a tight budget and job cuts in the civil service might negatively affect the morale since Whitehall staff is already feeling frustrated after Keir Starmer’s comments in a speech last week indicating that many have grown comfortable about failure.