Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Prime Minister's announcement that 70,000 civil service jobs will be cut to finance extra defence spending, whether those civil servants are doing work that is unnecessary; and what are the functions that will no longer be carried out.

The Prime Minister’s announcement of longer-term reductions in Civil Service numbers is a reiteration of the policy announced by the Chancellor in October 2023. The longer-term reductions will build on the shorter-term headcount cap put in place through to March 2025. The detail of how the return to pre-pandemic numbers will be delivered will form a key part of the next comprehensive spending review.