Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled Prime Minister: I will reshape the state to deliver security for working people, published on 12 March 2025, what the Government’s is for the (a) number of civil servants and (b) cost of civil service pay.

The Prime Minister has set out his ambition to deliver long-term, impactful changes to reshape the British state and the Government is taking forward a number of measures to deliver greater efficiency and transformation in the Civil Service. Each department will take a decision on its individual size and shape as per the financial settlement it agrees with HMT in the Spending Review, due for conclusion in June 2025.

The Prime Minister has announced that the Government is committed to cutting bureaucracy across the state, in order to focus government on the priorities of working people and shift money to the frontline. As part of this, the Prime Minister announced the abolition of the arms-length body NHS England. The government has also announced the first zero-based review of government spending in 17 years, with departments expected to go line-by-line to find savings and efficiencies, including in bodies and agencies that they sponsor.