Jeremy Hunt has directed ministers to develop measures that would cut the Civil Service by 63,000 personnel in order to save \u00a31 billion each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a 14-minute address, the Chancellor stated that he would like to see fewer diversity and inclusion professionals propagate “woke” values throughout Whitehall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He told Tory conference delegates that he would extend a Civil Service recruitment freeze and that each department would have to submit proposals to cut the number of officials they employ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The goal is to lower the size of the Civil Service from 457,000 to 394,000 before the pandemic, a 15% reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Hunt said departments would also have to carry out an audit of inclusion staff to ensure they are needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are about 10,000 such staff in Whitehall, and Mr Hunt\u2019s expectation is that this will be reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his speech, the Chancellor suggested that improving public sector productivity could enable him to cut taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have the best civil servants in the world and they saved many lives in the pandemic by working night and day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut even after that pandemic is over, we still have 63,000 more civil servants than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNew policies should not always mean new people. So, today I\u2019m freezing the expansion of the Civil Service and putting in place a plan to reduce its numbers to pre-pandemic levels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added: \u201cIf we increase public-sector productivity growth by just half a per cent, we can stabilise public spending as a proportion of GDP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIncrease it by more and we can bring the tax burden down. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John O\u2019Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers\u2019 Alliance, welcomed the plan, saying: \u201cFreezing Whitehall expansion is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe mandarin jobs boom is one of the key drivers of the cost of government crisis that is hammering taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the size of the Civil Service frozen, the Chancellor should now look to find savings by winding down unnecessary roles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jeremy Hunt has directed ministers to develop measures that would cut the Civil Service by 63,000 personnel in order to save \u00a31 billion each year. In a 14-minute address, the … <\/p>\n