Emphasis on headcounts is 'glib and superficial', says FDA

Responding to comments in Gordon Brown's speech today on reducing the civil service to 1945 levels, FDA general secretary Jonathan Baume said:

"The emphasis on headcounts is glib and superficial. Gordon Brown is repeating the mistakes of 2004, when, in order to get quick headlines, the government announced cuts in numbers of civil servants. These cuts were followed by spending of up to £2.5 billion a year on external consultants, who were paid out of different budgets.

"What ministers need to focus on is developing and delivering policy, not cutting jobs. If government is to be effective, then ministers need to devote the resources, seek objective analysis, and be willing to test - through consultation - the potential impact of their decisions.

"There are already strict controls on departments' expenditure under the current Comprehensive Spending Review regime and headcount targets are an irrelevancy."

Notes for editors

1. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing 18,000 of the UK's senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, diplomats, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.
2. Members in HMRC are represented by the Association of Revenue and Customs (ARC), a section of the FDA.
3. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants' union".
4. For further information contact: �€� Jonathan Baume, General Secretary, tel: 020 7401 5555 or 07976 951191 �€� Oliver Rowe, Communications Officer, tel: 020 7401 5588 or 07751 366680.