Figures show coalition has enacted biggest Whitehall jobs cull ever

Experts warn damage to morale in civil service may put government reforms at risk There has been a 20% year-on-year reduction in the number of civil servants earning more than the prime minister as the government has enacted the biggest jobs cull in Whitehall ever, new figures show. The number of Whitehall mandarins fell from 113 to 90 this year as the government embarked on plans to cut central administration costs by 30% over four years. But researchers have warned that the coalition is risking its reforms by attempting such a major reorganisation at the same time as making huge policy changes, claiming there is a growing morale problem at the heart of government. In the 1980s, the Thatcher government cut 10% of the central civil service over a period of four years. Figures released last week show that, since the autumn, the number of employees in central government departments has shrunk by 4.2%. An analysis by the Institute for Government thinktank (IFG), reveals that, at the top of the civil service, senior positions have shrunk by 14.5%. Ministers last week published “organograms” showing the employment structure across every Whitehall department. A Guardian analysis of those figures reveals the significant decline in the number earning in excess of £142,500 – the level of the prime minister’s salary. Julian McCrae, the head of research at the IFG, said: “By any scale, it’s about three times more ambitious than Margaret Thatcher’s radical proposals from the 1980s. This is definitely a very ambitious programme, and it’s also taking place incredibly quickly. “If you look at most of the studies on organisational change, they say it is difficult to avoid demoralisation. The big risk is that you get obsessed by cost and not by quality. “There is the biggest financial consolidation since at least the second world war going on, the biggest reforms in a generation, and you’re going to take out three times more of your central administration resources. “One should never underestimate how ambitious this is. Some companies do manage to turn themselves around in this way – but it’s a difficult process to get right, and the success rates are something like 30-40%.” Jonathan Baume, the general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior public servants, said: “There is a growing morale problem. It feels solemn. People feel bruised by all of this. There’s a professionalism, you get on with the job. But all around you can see people are applying for their own jobs, being tapped on their shoulder and told perhaps it’s time to go. “Below the surface there is a lot of churn, and people feel very unhappy about it. It is the most difficult period since the 1980s. We went through a retrenchment in the 1990s and it didn’t feel as radical.” Civil service Liberal-Conservative coalition Public sector cuts Public sector pay Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.