London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Rishi Sunak: No 91,000 target for civil service job cuts

Rishi Sunak: No 91,000 target for civil service job cuts

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has scrapped a target of 91,000 civil service job cuts and ordered departments to find efficiency savings instead.

Downing Street said reductions in staff were needed but the government would not be putting a specific number on it.

The 91,000 target was introduced when Boris Johnson was prime minister.

The shift in policy comes as Mr Sunak's government seeks to shore up the UK's finances to fill a gap worth an estimated £50bn.

The Treasury has warned of spending cuts and tax rises ahead of a financial statement by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on 17 November.

The statement was delayed by two weeks after Mr Sunak replaced Liz Truss as prime minister, following a period of economic turmoil, exacerbated by her tax-cutting mini-budget in September.

The target of reducing the Civil Service by around a fifth predates both Ms Truss and Mr Sunak.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has now quit government and returned to the backbenches, was working towards the target when he was a Cabinet Office minister under Mr Johnson.

At the time, Secretary Simon Case sent a letter to civil servants, telling them the aim was to return to 2016 staffing levels within three years.

There were 384,000 civil servants employed in 2016 - the lowest number since World War Two - but as the UK prepared to leave the EU, numbers steadily rose until they reached 475,000 at the end of last year.

But on Tuesday, Mr Sunak's official spokesman said reductions in civil servant numbers would be up to individual departments, and no targets would be set.

In a tweet, the Trades Union Congress wrote: "Big win for civil servant trade unions."

Writing to civil servants, Mr Sunak said: "Together, we must make sure every taxpayer pound goes as far as it possibly can.

"I do not believe that top-down targets for Civil Service headcount reductions are the right way to do that.

"Instead, the chancellor and I will be asking every government department to look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets so that we can use taxpayers' money sustainably in the long term."

The Cabinet Office said government departments "have been asked to look for the most effective ways to maximise efficiency within their budgets".

A spokesperson said: "It is the role of a responsible government to identify how to deliver the best outcomes for the public as efficiently as possible."

The spokesperson also confirmed the Fast Stream programme to recruit civil servants would resume next month after a pause.



Jacob Rees-Mogg: "During an issue with the cost of living... you need to have control of budgets"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×