Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Services: Reductions

Thursday 27 October 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government plans to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000 to improve efficiency and reduce costs in public service delivery.
  • A study suggests that the civil service reduction plans could result in a 3 billion annual drain on the UK economy and 118,000 private sector job losses.
  • Government remains committed to recruiting high-quality individuals into the civil service through various routes including apprenticeships and fast-track processes.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Richard Burgon Lab Leeds East
Economy Employment Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The question arises from the government's objective to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000. This reduction is expected to affect various public services.

Question

Whether the Government plans to make reductions to public services to meet its objective to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000. The questioner noted that such job losses risk even longer backlogs for services like issuing passports and driving licences—systems already in chaos—and they will not deliver savings to taxpayers.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

In recent years, the civil service has delivered in the face of unprecedented challenges. This Government are focused on improving efficiency and reducing the cost of public service delivery. The Government are totally committed to delivering high-quality public services as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner's specific concern about job losses causing service backlogs was not directly addressed; the response focused on general efficiency improvements without providing specifics.

How: Focused On Improving Efficiency, Without Addressing Service Impacts

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Q2 Richard Burgon Lab Leeds East
Economy Taxation Employment
Context

The question follows a study showing that such proposals could drain £3 billion annually from the UK economy and result in 118,000 private sector jobs loss. Civil servants feel overworked and underpaid.

Question

A new study by economists shows that these plans could drain £3 billion annually from the UK economy and result in 118,000 private sector job losses. Given civil servants feeling increasingly overworked and underpaid, should not the Minister drop these proposals?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

I am sure the hon. Gentleman recognises that given what is going on in the world at the moment and pressures on household incomes, people want high-quality public services delivered as effectively and efficiently as possible. There are innovations such as digital networks and AI to support strong delivery of public services which should not be ignored.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner's specific concern about economic impacts was not directly addressed; the response focused on potential efficiencies without providing specifics.

How: Focused On Delivering High-Quality Public Services, Mentioned Innovations But No Concrete Plans

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Q3 Robert Syms Con
Parliamentary Procedure
Context

Stories emerged in the summer about downgrading the fast-track process for recruiting civil servants. The questioner questions whether this is a change from previous policy.

Question

There were stories about downgrading the fast-track process for recruiting civil servants in the summer. Is this Government policy or have they had any thoughts on it, considering how well the system has served us over many years?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

The Government are committed to ensuring a path into the civil service for high-quality individuals. We need really good, high-quality public servants. I spoke earlier about apprenticeships and mentioned an important point regarding fast track. There will be routes into the civil service for high-quality public servants.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner's specific concern about downgrading the fast-track process was not directly addressed; the response focused on general commitments to quality without providing specifics.

How: Focused On Recruiting High-Quality Civil Servants, Mentioned Apprenticeships But No Concrete Plans

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