Civil service cuts compared to Stalin's infamous tractor plan
Plans to cut the civil service workforce are like ‘Stalin announcing tractor production in a five-year plan’, a union boss has claimed.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA for senior civil servants, accused ministers of deciding on a headcount number ‘for political purposes’ with ‘no focus on outcomes’.
Last year the Chancellor announced plans to reduce the size of the civil service by around 66,000 people – down to pre-pandemic levels – in a bid to save up to £1billion.
But Mr Penman, in a speech to the FDA’s annual conference in London yesterday, said: ‘What are we to make of a government that has apparently decided that the demands of the civil service in 2029 will exactly match the number of civil servants employed in 2019?
Dave Penman (pictured), general secretary of the FDA for senior civil servants, accused ministers of deciding on a headcount number ‘for political purposes’ with ‘no focus on outcomes’
‘The Chancellor has said he wants to cut the size of the civil service by 70,000 by the end of the next parliament.
‘Like Stalin announcing tractor production in a five-year plan, ministers have decided on a number, for political purposes. No focus on outcomes, no recognition of what the civil service is expected to achieve and absolutely no logic.’
He also criticised the target for civil servants to work in the office three days a week, calling it ‘top down, evidence-free micromanagement’.
But Downing Street defended the plans to cut the workforce, saying it grew ‘during a once-in-a-century pandemic’.
‘I think it is right that we now focus on bringing headcount back to the level that is needed to deliver high quality public services,’ the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
‘But also focused on increasing the productivity of the civil service such that per person output is increased back to levels that we saw pre-pandemic.’
His comments came as Cabinet Office minister John Glen announced plans to trial performance-linked pay for specialist senior civil servants.
His comments came as Cabinet Office minister John Glen (pictured) announced plans to trial performance-linked pay for specialist senior civil servants. Pictured: Mr Glen leaving Downing Street in September
He said: ‘We need to recruit the brightest minds and take swift action when performance falls.’
Meanwhile a second union announced it has been given the go-ahead to bring a legal challenge against legislation on minimum service levels during strikes.
The Public and Commercial Services union, representing 185,000 civil service workers, argues that the new law infringes on rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights.
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