Reform UK civil service plan would sack more planning officers than exist'

A Reform UK plan proposes cutting civil service roles to save more than £5bn a year, with full-time-equivalent headcount falling by 13%. The plan targets communications with a 60% reduction and human resources with a two-thirds reduction. It also calls for reducing 450 FTE planning roles, while 2025 civil service statistics show only 445 planners employed across Britain. A Reform spokesperson said the total includes 440 planning inspectors at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whose Planning Inspectorate handles planning appeals and major infrastructure recommendations. The plan also proposes cutting 930 occupational psychology roles, saving £60m a year, despite 1,390 psychologists being recorded, with 90% working in prison and probation services supporting prison staff.

"A Reform UK plan to cut the size of the civil service would involve sacking more planning officers than exist and getting rid of at least two-thirds of the psychologists who support prison officers' welfare, it has emerged. The policy paper, led by the Reform MP Danny Kruger and published in December, promises to save more than 5bn a year by cutting civil service roles, with the full-time-equivalent (FTE) headcount falling by 13%."

"Titled Storm and Sunshine, the report calls for a particular focus on areas such as communications, where it says numbers would be reduced by 60%, and human resources, where a two-thirds reduction is envisaged. Among detailed proposals for other areas, the paper calls for a reduction of 450 FTEs in planning, accounting for 40m a year. According to the 2025 statistics for civil servants employed in each role, however, there are only 445 planners employed across the civil service in Britain, about a third of them at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)."

"Asked how it would be possible to sack more planners than existed, a Reform spokesperson said the total included 440 people employed as planning inspectors at the MHCLG. Our number stands, they said. The inspectors work for the Planning Inspectorate, an arm of the MHCLG which decides on planning appeals and deals with recommendations for major infrastructure projects such as power plants. It is not clear how well this work could continue after significant staff cuts."

"Another part of the Reform plan pledges to cut 930 occupational psychology roles, saving 60m a year. The civil service statistics show that of 1,390 psychologists, 90% work in the prison and probation service, where they primarily help prison staff. Asked about the potential consequences for the welfare of prison staff if the cut were to happen, a Reform spokesperson said: Prisons will be much safer places to work under a Reform government and working conditions for prison officers will be greatly im"

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