Waste-buster could axe 80,000 jobs

Monday, 16 February 2004 12:00 AM

Labour's so-called bureaucracy waste-buster has projected £10 to £15 billion could be cleaved from government spending if radical proposals to downsize the civil service are adopted.

In a confidential interim report, seen by The Financial Times, Sir Peter Gershon, head of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), said changes could entail the axing of up to 80,000 civil service jobs - plus others in the back offices of local government.

The rumour may offer some comfort to Gordon Brown, who faces an estimated £13 billion funding gap between tax accrued and government spending.

The reforms would turn Whitehall upside down, leaving little room for the "generalist", with higher-paid, higher-skilled specialists working in policy groups across departments.

Sir Peter is eyeing a root-and-branch reform of how civil servants buy services and equipment.

He is expected to produce a final report on April 26th detailing policies for the July spending review.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said 80,000 job losses would be "completely unacceptable".

Shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin today sets out his Medium Term Expenditure Strategy aiming to save a projected £35 billion a year in government spending by 2011.

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