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Top civil servants asked to draw up plans to cut jobs by up to 40% in each department amid cost-of-living crisis | Political news

Top civil servants across Whitehall will be asked to draw up a plan for how they will implement staff cuts of up to 40% in each of their departments, Sky News understands.

Two senior government sources said the Cabinet Office was ready to write to all permanent secretaries asking them to model what would be required to cut staff in three other scenarios. each other: 20%, 30% and 40% cuts.

It followed a call from Boris Johnson for a 20% reduce payroll – 90,000 people – across Whitehall.

Sky News understands that the decision to require modeling cuts of up to 40% is to allow some flexibility as some departments will be able to cut more than 20% and some less than 20%.

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A senior civil servant source suggested that the 40% cut request was likely to become a “theoretical/theoretical exercise”, adding that it would be “nonsense” as no ministry could accept it. such a reduction.

However, senior figures say the prime minister, chief of staff Steve Barclay and the prime minister are determined to fulfill the demands.

Last week, the Prime Minister ordered ministers to put together a plan to cut more than 90,000 civil jobs to free up billions of pounds for measures to ease the cost of living crisis with the possibility of tax cuts.

During a working day with cabinet ministers in Stoke-on-Trent, the prime minister asked them to report back within a month on how they could reduce the size of their departmental force to level five. 2016.

That would mean a reduction of about one-fifth in the 475,000-strong workforce.

The government said details of the plan will be released in due course.

It will save around £3.5 billion a year.

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It comes as Mr Johnson faces pressure to do more to tackle the cost of living crisis, which has seen inflation rise to three-decade highs – with Tory MPs pressed for tax cuts and Labor accused him of “lack of ideas”.

At the time of initial reports of the Prime Minister’s intention to cut civilian payrolls, a Government spokesman said: “The Prime Minister and ministers are clear that the civil service has done an excellent job. mission to the public and drive progress toward government priorities.

“But as people and businesses across the country are faced with rising costs, the public rightly expects their government to take the lead and run as efficiently as possible.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg emphasized plans do not benefit austerity.

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According to Jacob Rees-Mogg, civil service cuts are not a return to austerity, amid plans that could see 90,000 jobs

Speaking to Sky News last Friday, Minister Brexit Opportunity and Efficiency of Government Jacob Rees-Mogg said the government was trying to get the civil service “back to normal” after taking on more “people for specific tasks” including COVID-19 and Brexit.

Asked if a reduction in the number of civil servants would create a return to austerity, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “I don’t think it’s because what we’re doing is returning to the level of efficiency that we’ve had. available in 2016”.

He said the easiest way to cut payrolls is to “do not hire”, as “up to 38,000 people a year leave the civil service”.

Mr. Rees-Mogg continued: “The only thing that is ideological is that we should spend taxpayer money sensibly and not waste it..

“It’s about doing things the right way. It’s about managing effectively and realizing that every tax dollar we collect must come from the support of hard-working people. “

In the midst of the civil service performance discussion, Mr. Rees-Mogg indicated that he had attended the morning broadcast with several advisers.

Asked if all were needed, he said: “They all don’t work directly for me. They work in the Cabinet Office – and two are my special advisers.”

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