Of the jobs to go, some 1,200 posts will be lost through voluntary and “mutually-agreed” redundancies or people not being replaced if they leave
A government department run by one of Keir Starmer’s most senior ministers is cutting almost a third of its jobs as ministers seek to accelerate civil service reform. Officials at the Cabinet Office – headed by Pat McFadden – are being told today that 2,100 of their 6,500 jobs will be cut or moved to other parts of government over the next two years. Along with other reforms, the Cabinet Office says the cuts will save £110m a year by 2028.
The Cabinet Office supports the prime minister and co-ordinates the work of other departments which have more specific remits. Civil service union Prospect warned “blunt cuts of this scale” could harm delivery across government.
Of the jobs to go, some 1,200 posts will be lost through voluntary and “mutually-agreed” redundancies or people not being replaced if they leave. A further 900 are being transferred to other government departments in an attempt to avoid duplication of work. McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is one of Sir Keir Starmer’s key lieutenants and the minister responsible for reform of the civil service.
A source said he was “leading by example” with the cuts to his own department. In recent weeks the government has announced plans to make “radical” reforms to the way the civil service works, including cutting the costs of running government by 15% by the end of the decade.
McFadden wants to introduce performance-related pay for senior staff and new rules under which those failing to meet standards could be sacked if they do not improve within six months. But he has resisted, in public at least, setting a target for how many civil servants’ jobs would be lost. The announcement of the moves at the Cabinet Office suggests that the cuts might go further than some had expected.
A Cabinet Office source said: “Leading by example, we are creating a leaner and more focused Cabinet Office that will drive work to reshape the state and deliver our Plan for Change. This government will target resources at frontline services – with more teachers in classrooms, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat.”
In a call with staff this morning Cat Little, the Cabinet Office’s top civil servant, said she wanted the department to be “more strategic, specialist, and smaller”. Since 2016 the number of people employed by the civil service has grown from 384,000 to more than 500,000.
The rise was partly driven by preparations for Brexit and new functions the British state did not have to carry out during EU membership. New officials were also hired to deal with the Covid pandemic.
The Cabinet Office has grown the most of any department proportionally, approximately trebling in size since the EU referendum. Mike Clancy, the general secretary of the Prospect trade union which represents some civil servants, said: “The Cabinet Office has an important role to play operating the machinery of government, driving efficiency and reform, and ensuring other departments are fully aligned with and able to deliver the government’s missions.
“Blunt cuts of this scale will make it harder to play that role and could impact on delivery across government. Prospect will engage with the Cabinet Office throughout this process and will seek an assurance that there will be no compulsory redundancies.”
Lucille Thirlby, assistant general secretary of the FDA union, also warned that the cuts “will impact the delivery of the government’s own agenda”.
“Civil servants are desperate for reform and refocusing the work of the Cabinet Office may be a good place to start,” she said. “However – as we are seeing with the reorganisation of NHS England – there is a difference between reforming and cutting. The success of any reforms will depend on whether the scale of cuts undermine the reform.” She urged ministers to “be honest about what the government will stop doing as a result of these cuts”.
