Recommendations & Conclusions
6 items
6
Recommendation
Twentieth Report - Whole of Government …
Rejected
Government has not yet set out the consequences of announced Civil Service staffing reductions. In May 2022, the government announced that it intends to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years. The 2021 Spending Review had already confirmed the need for savings of 5% against …
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Government has not yet set out the consequences of announced Civil Service staffing reductions. In May 2022, the government announced that it intends to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years. The 2021 Spending Review had already confirmed the need for savings of 5% against day-to-day central departmental budgets in 2024–25, however, these new cuts, which represent a 20% reduction in headcount, are far more significant. The Treasury acknowledges that it does not yet understand the scale or cost of redundancies that are likely to be required to achieve the desired reduction in headcount across the civil service. This scale of headcount reduction has the potential to bring about significant consequences for departmental service quality and delivery. At the time we took evidence, no work had been completed, either by the Treasury or by other affected departments, to understand the impact on delivery of public services or how to mitigate the effects for service users. One way in which cuts might be achieved while maintaining delivery levels is through increased digitisation of services. There is a risk that if a rapid reduction in headcount led to a sacrifice of resources needed to achieve digital transformations, that current progress towards digitalisation might be jeopardised; damaging the potential to reduce long-term staffing needs organically. 8 Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20 Recommendation: HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office should prepare a clearly articulated and costed plan based on proposed staffing reductions across government, and ensure that reductions represent value for money, and tell us in its Treasury Minute response when that will be published. Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20 9 1 Timeliness of the WGA and the impact of delays
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Government response AI summary
The government rejects the recommendation to prepare a costed plan based on proposed staffing reductions across government, stating that they will not be publishing a full plan to deliver the previously proposed Civil Service staffing reductions, and will instead focus on departmental efficiency and savings …
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HM Treasury
23
Recommendation
Twentieth Report - Whole of Government …
Rejected
In May 2022, the government announced its intention to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years, with the aim of returning to 2016 staffing levels.70 The 2021 Spending Review had already confirmed the need for savings of 5% against day- to-day central departmental budgets in …
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In May 2022, the government announced its intention to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years, with the aim of returning to 2016 staffing levels.70 The 2021 Spending Review had already confirmed the need for savings of 5% against day- to-day central departmental budgets in 2024–25, however, these new cuts, which represent a 20% reduction in headcount, are far more significant.71 72
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to prepare a clearly articulated and costed plan based on proposed staffing reductions across government, because they have moved away from top-down headcount reduction targets.
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HM Treasury
24
Recommendation
Twentieth Report - Whole of Government …
Rejected
Staff cuts will inevitably involve a quantity of associated costs, including redundancy costs, that the government will have to pay out. We questioned the Treasury as to what the total cost of these payments was likely to be, and although it explained that the number of required redundancies could be …
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Staff cuts will inevitably involve a quantity of associated costs, including redundancy costs, that the government will have to pay out. We questioned the Treasury as to what the total cost of these payments was likely to be, and although it explained that the number of required redundancies could be minimised by the large number of people who leave the civil service or retire each year, it told us that it did not know what the expected level of exit costs was likely to be at this stage.73 The Treasury also acknowledged that it did not have an understanding of how redundancies would be allocated, or if they would be targeted towards staff for whom lower exit costs would be involved.74
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to prepare a clearly articulated and costed plan based on proposed staffing reductions across government, because departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets.
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HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Twentieth Report - Whole of Government …
Rejected
This scale of these proposed cuts has the potential to bring about significant consequences for service delivery, both in regard to the quality and efficiency of delivery and the range of services it will be possible to provide. At the time we took evidence, the Treasury said that no work …
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This scale of these proposed cuts has the potential to bring about significant consequences for service delivery, both in regard to the quality and efficiency of delivery and the range of services it will be possible to provide. At the time we took evidence, the Treasury said that no work had been completed, either by the Treasury or by other affected departments, to understand the impact on delivery of public services or how the effects for service users might be mitigated.75
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the committee's recommendation. The Prime Minister has confirmed that, rather than a top-down headcount reduction target, departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets. They will not be publishing a full plan to …
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HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Twentieth Report - Whole of Government …
Rejected
The Treasury told us that at this stage the challenge of how best to achieve these reductions is in the hands of individual departments. It explained that each department is itself best placed to understand the resourcing requirements needed to deliver its service programmes and objectives. It told us that …
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The Treasury told us that at this stage the challenge of how best to achieve these reductions is in the hands of individual departments. It explained that each department is itself best placed to understand the resourcing requirements needed to deliver its service programmes and objectives. It told us that the decision around how these headcount reductions will be achieved whilst continuing to deliver vital public services and maintaining an appropriate skill base is, therefore, up to each department to decide. The Treasury confirmed that it will not have a top-down, centralised view until the necessary information is gathered from departments over the summer.76
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the premise, stating the Prime Minister has confirmed that departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets, rather than top-down headcount reduction targets.
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HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Twentieth Report - Whole of Government …
Rejected
We discussed with the Treasury that one way in which headcount reductions might be accomplished whilst at the same time maintaining the scope and standard of service delivery, is by way of increased digitisation. By digitalising services, the required level of staffing is reduced, and cuts can be made in …
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We discussed with the Treasury that one way in which headcount reductions might be accomplished whilst at the same time maintaining the scope and standard of service delivery, is by way of increased digitisation. By digitalising services, the required level of staffing is reduced, and cuts can be made in areas where resources are no longer needed. The Treasury acknowledged the risk that if a rapid reduction in headcount resulted in the loss of the skills and capacity needed to achieve transformation, current progress towards digitalisation might be lost. The Treasury told us that it is eager to understand the 70 Prime Minister’s Housing Speech, 9 June 2022 71 Q 21 72 HM Treasury, Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, 27 October 2021, para 8, p 2 73 Q 21 74 Q 23 75 Q 44 76 Q 23 18 Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20 consequences of these cuts on delivering transformation and vital public services.77 The Treasury affirmed its responsibility, together with the Cabinet Office, to ensure that it is incentivising, prioritising and enabling digital transformation.78 77 Q 24 78 Q 44 Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20 19
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the committee's recommendation. The Prime Minister has confirmed that, rather than a top-down headcount reduction target, departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets. They will not be publishing a full plan to …
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HM Treasury