The civil service has expanded enormously, particularly since 2016, rising from under 380,000 to over 514,000 by 2024.  The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has announced plans to save around of 15% from the government’s running costs, suggesting this may amount to 10,000 jobs from various ‘back office’ functions while protecting the frontline. But the required savings are going to need considerably more job reductions than that, and there is currently no plan for delivery.

In addition to its size, the civil service suffers from structural problems, many of which a result of failed past attempts at reform.  These include grade inflation, rapid job churn, pay packages that are uncompetitive in some areas and over-generous in others, excessive layers of management and short management spans, and overall Byzantine complexity of pay and conditions. 

The current set up suits nobody –  not the public receiving Government services, not Ministers and not even civil servants themselves.   This paper proposes an approach that would deliver both far greater savings than Labour Ministers are proposing – around £5b pa including future pension savings, compared to the £2b currently proposed, delivered much quicker and at the same time significantly improving the working of the Civil Service.

This exercise involves targeted reversal of grade inflation, removing excess layers of management and focusing on some of the ‘professions’ where expansion has been most dramatic, while recycling some of the savings to rebuild pay in some areas where it is most uncompetitive.  It would deliver a slimmer and much more effective service.