The Civil Service has become bloated, overstaffed, and has failed
to deliver what is expected by the British people.
A Reform Government will make the Civil Service lean, high
performing, agile and effective. It will be capable of attracting
and retaining the country's finest talent. Our Preparation for
Government work will ultimately cover the future size and shape
of the Civil Service, ensuring more effective ministerial
control, and modernising how it operates.
We are now able to announce the first phase of this work -
focused on cutting back-office bloat and incentivising high
performance.
This is Phase I and we remain committed to significant
efficiencies whilst protecting, and in certain areas even
strengthening, frontline public service delivery.
Phase I will reduce Civil Service full-time equivalents (FTE) by
68,500 and save the Exchequer approximately £5.2 billion a year
once fully implemented (with headcount reductions made over a two
year period).
This amounts to a reduction in Civil Service headcount by 13% and
total staffing costs by 17%.
The policy measures here cover:
1. Staff budget cuts targeted at corporate functions that
include:
a. Policy profession reductions of 50%
b. Communications staff reductions of 60%
c. Human Resources staff reductions of 67%
d. Other back-office function reductions of 25% (digital, project
delivery, strategy, finance, legal, commercial)
e. Other and unknown professions reductions of 33% f.
Internal-facing professions reductions of 50%
2. A 400% increase of the bonus pool (non-consolidated
performance related pay) across the Civil Service to ensure we
attract the finest talent in the country, and incentivise our
highest performing public servants.
3. A move away from longevity-based promotions within the Civil
Service and towards performance-based promotions.
Protecting frontline services
It is important to note that none of these measures include any
reductions to operational roles such as Border Control, DWP
assessors, Home Office caseworkers, HMRC tax investigators, or
other frontline staff.
In fact, staffing in some departments may increase to support the
delivery of our wider policy programme, including Operation
Restoring Justice, PIP claim re-assessments and refugee status
re-assessments.
Further detail on Phase 1 can be found in the attached
document.
