The government has instructed the Civil Service to reduce administrative costs. They must find more than £2 billion of savings per annum by the end of this decade. What this instruction will mean will be set out in a forthcoming letter from Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden. The UK government is presently between Spending Reviews, which are multi-year spending plans. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to make her Spring Statement on Wednesday.
By 2028-29, the government aims to reduce Civil Service day-to-day spending by 10%. The first full year after their baseline, they have to reduce emissions 15% below that baseline. This efficiency target is expected to save £2.2 billion a year. These cuts have been promised by the government for years. The new prime minister is calling for reforms to “unshackle” civil servants from “bureaucracy.”
In a statement to the BBC recently, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden promised “radical” changes to the Civil Service. We believe these changes will create positive and meaningful change in the development of public-facing services.
"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." – Cabinet Office source
Those proposed changes have already raised alarms with labor unions. Prospect Union general secretary Mike Clancy cautioned against the belief that cutting costs means bettering service.
"A cheaper civil service is not the same as a better civil service." – Mike Clancy, Prospect Union general secretary
Furthermore, FDA Union head Dave Penman expressed skepticism about achieving cuts of this scale through reductions in human resources and communications teams.
"The idea that cuts of this scale can be delivered by cutting HR and comms teams is for the birds." – Dave Penman, FDA Union head
The government’s response has been to double down on Civil Service cuts. They would seek to reinvest £5 billion annually by 2030 through their proposed reforms to the welfare system. These reforms have been the imposition of tougher standards for Personal Independence Payment (Pip) and the basic rate of universal credit.
"We can't tax and spend our way to higher living standards and better public services. That's not available in the world we live in today." – Rachel Reeves
Reducing burdens unnecessarily shifts resources away from the people for whom we are all responsible. As a result, we can put two more teachers in classrooms, provide 1,500 more hospital appointments per day or have 1,400 more police officers patrolling.
"By cutting administrative costs we can target resources at frontline services – with more teachers in classrooms, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat." – Cabinet Office source