More than 80k civil service jobs should be scrapped to save taxpayers £5bn a year, urges report
The efficiency plan - backed by former top mandarins - includes slashing communications staff by 70 per cent and halving the HR departments.
1
Whitehall 's headcount has ballooned from 380,000 to 514,000 since just 2016 - costing around £25billion in salaries and pensions.
Experts say this has only slowed government output by creating needless bureaucracy rather than investing in frontline services.
Analysis by Policy Exchange found identical jobs are being done sometimes two pay bands higher than they were 30 years ago.
Ex-Home Office director and report author Stephen Webb said a slimmed-down civil service would allow for better pay for remaining talent while making big government savings.
He said: 'The proposals in the paper don't require scaling back services, but should allow the system to work better.
"The system will be cheaper and more effective.'
Sir John Kingman, who was previously the second-in-command at the Treasury, backed the plan, adding: 'An over-resourced administrative machine inevitably generates ever more process for itself and slows itself down.'
Recommendations also include cutting the number of senior civil servants by 50 per cent, and a cap on their numbers.
It also proposes using compulsory over voluntary redundancies in order to retain the best performing staff.
Ministers have announced plans to cut £1.5billion from the civil service budget by the next election, but Policy Exchange says their plan would go 'further and faster'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Crystal Palace chairman makes Marc Guehi admission amid Liverpool speculation
Marc Guehi could be sold this summer, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has conceded, with just one year remaining on the Eagles captain's contract. Palace defeated Liverpool on Sunday in the Community Shield and knocked back offers from Newcastle for the England centre-back in January, with the highest bid thought to be worth in the region of £65m. But with Guehi yet to sign a new deal and links with Liverpool, who have experienced defensive problems in pre-season, Palace could salvage some value in the player to avoid losing him on a free transfer next summer. "We'd have to do that, of course," Parish said. "For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it's a problem for us, unfortunately. "Joachim [Andersen] went [to Fulham last summer] and we couldn't afford to lose both. "We then had another bid [for Guehi] in January but that was a different situation. "We'll just have to see what happens. But, you know, it needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind." The Independent understands that Liverpool have held an interest in the player over the last year and would consider a move before the end of the window, though the Reds have already splashed out £270m this summer. Guehi helped the Eagles beat Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday, securing the second piece of silverware under manager Oliver Glasner. But despite the arrivals of Argentina goalkeeper Walter Benitez from PSV Eindhoven and Croatia defender Borna Sosa from Ajax, Palace have been left frustrated with a lack of signings ahead of a campaign in Europe, either in the Europa League or Conference League, depending on the club's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport following their demotion over multi-club ownership rules. "It's difficult. We have an outstanding 15 or 16 players, trying to get that level of quality in is hard. The prices - at the end of the day we're Crystal Palace," Parish added. "The money at every football club is finite at some point. We will do what we can, try and help where we can. We all want to be better at football and we will try and do what we can."
The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Palestine Action supporters ‘will feel full force of law', justice minister says
Supporters of the banned group Palestine Action will 'feel the full force of the law', a justice minister said, as police work to secure charges following hundreds of arrests at a demonstration in London over the weekend. The protest was held at Parliament Square on Saturday, organised by Defend Our Juries, with the Metropolitan Police warning it would detain anyone expressing support for Palestine Action. The force confirmed on Sunday that 522 people were held for displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation, out of the total 532 arrests made during the policing operation. Over the coming weeks, officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command will work to put together case files and secure charges against those arrested, the force added. Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones told BBC Breakfast on Monday: 'I want to thank the police for their bravery and their courage in carrying out their diligent duties in the line of public protection, and I want to state that the right to peacefully protest in this country is a cornerstone of our democracy, and of course, we respect that. 'But with regards to Palestine Action, they are a proscribed terrorist organisation and their actions have not been peaceful. 'They have violently carried out criminal damage to RAF aircraft. 'We have credible reports of them targeting Jewish-owned businesses here in the United Kingdom, and there are other reasons, which we can't disclose because of national security. 'But they are a prescribed terrorist organisation and anyone showing support for that terrorist organisation will feel the full force of the law.' The Met said they were aware of online photos and footage suggesting some people returned to Parliament Square after being released on bail, adding it would be 'entirely unrealistic' for officers to recognise these individuals. One of the bail conditions was not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action, police said. 'Given the numbers of people arrested (on Saturday) it would have been entirely unrealistic for officers to recognise individuals who returned to the area,' a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said. 'Their focus was rightly on those continuing to commit offences who were still to be arrested. 'We are as confident as we can be that none of those who returned to Parliament Square re-joined the protesters who were holding placards.' Securing a charge for an offence under the Terrorism Act will, in some instances, require approval by both the Crown Prosecution Service and Attorney General Lord Hermer, police said. The majority of those arrested, 348, were aged 50 or over, according to a breakdown published by the Met on Sunday. Detained protesters were taken to prisoner processing points in the Westminster area. Those whose details could be confirmed were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date. There were a further 10 arrests, six for assaults on officers, two for breaching Public Order Act conditions, one arrest for obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty, and one for a racially aggravated public order offence, the force said. Last week, the Met confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales for offences against Section 13 of the Terrorism Act relating to Palestine Action. The three people charged were arrested at a protest in Parliament Square on July 5. 'A further 26 case files relating to arrests on the same day are due to be submitted to the CPS imminently, with more to follow in relation to later protests,' a spokesperson for the Met added.
The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Marks & Spencer restores click and collect orders after hack
Marks & Spencer has restarted its click-and-collect service after almost four months following a damaging cyber attack on the business. The retailer's click-and-collect system stopped working in stores over the Easter Weekend in April after the company was targeted by hackers. Contactless payments were also taken down before being reinstated, while online orders through its website and mobile app were halted for around six weeks. The retailer has gradually reinstated key parts of its online systems following work by IT experts. Click and collect, which allows customers to buy products online and pick up at shops the next day, is the last major service to have been reinstated. Last month, the group restored its Sparks membership scheme fully for shoppers. In April, the company took down part of its IT systems and stopped sales through its website after being targeted by hackers. Customer personal data, which could have included names, email addresses, postal addresses and dates of birth, was taken during the attack. M&S revealed that the hack was caused by 'human error' and would cost it around £300 million. Last month, boss Stuart Machin had said M&S expected operations to be running fully again by August. Fellow retail chains, the Co-op and Harrods, were also impacted by cyber attacks in recent months. Four young people were arrested for their suspected involvement in the attacks and have been subsequently bailed.
