The United Kingdom Treasury is demanding that thousands of Public Service jobs created to cope with the exit from the European Union (Brexit) and the COVID-19 crisis be axed.
The Treasury called for all Departments to put forward plans for reducing staff ahead of an overall spending review to take place later in the year.
The number of Government workers has increased every year since 2016 as more were taken on to deal with the complex issues of Brexit and then the pandemic.
However, a source told journalists that the headcount was unsustainable and needed to be significantly reduced.
The source said all cost savings introduced since 2010 had been reversed.
Among Departments that have grown the most is the Cabinet Office, which took over many responsibilities from the now defunct Department for Exiting the EU.
The Departments of Transport, Education and the Treasury itself has also seen large increases in numbers.
Unions have been told that redundancies would be achieved by a halt in external recruitment for vacancies.
It comes as Public Servants’ return to offices has been delayed due to risk assessments for coping with unvaccinated staff.
All Departments have been told to complete paperwork ahead of a large-scale return of up to 100,000 workers.
They are required to come up with plans on how to make offices safe despite the presence of staff who weren’t vaccinated on medical or other grounds.
A source said there were fears people might refuse to come in if their colleagues were not double-jabbed.
London, 14 August 2021
