Around 50,000 civil service jobs could be cut as Chancellor Rachel Reeves pushes ahead with the final stage of a public spending review to tighten budgets across Whitehall.

Government insiders say roughly 10% of the civil service workforce – about 500,000 full-time equivalent roles – faces the axe. Departments, including the Ministry of Justice, are said to have already agreed to three-year budgets, with over half of all departments having settled.

The cuts are part of a wider push to control spending, with ministers aiming to conclude the process by early next week. While the proposed job losses are significant, officials believe a 10% reduction is achievable due to the sharp growth in staffing levels since 2016.

According to the Institute for Government, the number of full-time equivalent civil servants fell to under 390,000 in 2016, following years of austerity under the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition. However, staffing levels rose sharply in the years that followed.

The demands of Brexit added pressure, with the headcount rising to around 425,000 by the time of the first COVID-19 lockdown. By 2023, that figure had grown to approximately 515,000—an increase driven by the challenges of managing post-Brexit policies and responding to the pandemic.

Officials close to the review say the current cull reflects a desire to bring staffing levels back in line with pre-pandemic norms, rather than a return to full-scale austerity. Nonetheless, the cuts will likely raise concerns about capacity across key departments.

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