'Cheaper isn't better' | Chancellor 'confident' 10,000 civil service 'back office' jobs can be axed

Around 10,000 jobs are set to be axed in the civil service as the Government eyes up a major saving spree. Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that Labour plans to reduce government running costs by 15% by the end of the decade.

As part of the belt tightening, back office and admin roles are set to be culled so that frontline workers can be maintained. Roles in HR, office management and communications are widely expected to be part of the massive job cuts. Travel budgets and consultation fees will also be slashed.

Speaking to Sky News, the Chancellor said: "I'm confident that we can reduce civil service numbers by 10,000.

"And during COVID, there were big increases in the number of people that were working in the civil service. That was the right thing to do to respond to those challenges. But it's not right that we just keep those numbers there forever."