Jeremy Hunt says he’ll freeze enlargement of civil service and says Labour will result in greater taxes and inflation – UK politics reside | Politics
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How Hunt needs to scale back civil service numbers by round 60,000
That is what Jeremy Hunt stated in his speech about freezing civil service recruitment.
We’ve one of the best civil servants on this planet – they usually saved many lives within the pandemic by working evening and day.
However even after that pandemic is over, we nonetheless have 66,000 extra civil servants than earlier than.
New insurance policies shouldn’t at all times imply new folks.
So at present I’m freezing the enlargement of the civil service and setting up a plan to scale back its numbers to pre-pandemic ranges.
This can save £1bn subsequent yr.
And I gained’t elevate the freeze till now we have a correct plan not only for the civil service however for all public sector productiveness enhancements.
Treasury sources have been suggesting that Hunt could be pleased to see range and equality posts axed as a part of this crackdown. However in follow that isn’t going to make a lot distinction. There have been 457,000 folks within the civil service in June this yr. The headcount was projected to develop by 40,000 subsequent yr, however Hunt is now freezing numbers at the place they’re now. Round 1,000 civil servants work on range and equality points, the Treasury says.
When Hunt says he needs to get numbers all the way down to pre-pandemic ranges, meaning getting the headcount down by round 60,000, to round 400,000, the Treasury is saying.
In his speech Hunt implied that it was Covid that that pushed up civil servant numbers. However in reality Brexit is especially accountable. The Treasury says new officers needed to be employed to cope with the method and to carry out authorities features that have been beforehand carried out in Brussels when the UK was within the EU.
Key occasions
No 10 says remaining choice on section two of HS2 not but taken
Downing Avenue is now saying that Rishi Sunak has not taken the ultimate choice on section two of HS2, Sky’s Beth Rigby reviews.
On HS2 from No 10 spokesperson: “These reviews are incorrect. No remaining choices have been taken on Section 2 of HS2”
On HS2 from No 10 spokesperson: “These reviews are incorrect. No remaining choices have been taken on Section 2 of HS2”
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) October 2, 2023
Hunt claims the Tories are the one social gathering ready to take tough choices.
Rishi Sunak reveals what might be achieved with training, aspiration and laborious work, he says.
He ends:
It’s time to roll up our sleeves, tackle the declinists and watch the British economic system show the doubters improper.
And that’s the tip of the speech.
It was remarkably quick, and lightweight. Prior to now a chancellor’s speech at social gathering convention was a serious political occasion. That was extra of a footnote.
Hunt is now speaking in regards to the plans to limit welfare funds. He says he helps Mel Stride in his evaluation of labor functionality assessments.
And to make sure work continues to pay, the federal government will improve the nationwide dwelling wage to no less than £11 per hour, he says. (See 8.12am.)
Hunt says he’ll act to make sure folks don’t get debanked due to their political beliefs.
(Actually, they don’t, in line with a preliminary evaluation carried out by the Monetary Conduct Authority.)
Hunt says he’ll freeze enlargement of civil service
However one facet of the evaluation has already been determined, it appears. Hunt says he’s going to freeze the enlargement of the civil service till numbers are all the way down to pre-pandemic ranges. That ought to save £1bn, he says.
Hunt says the Institute for Fiscal Research was improper to say final week that greater taxes are everlasting. (See 9.33am.)
The UK wants a extra productive state, not an even bigger state, he says.
He says the UK can stabilise authorities spending as a proportion of GDP if it will increase public sector productiveness by 0.5% yearly.
John Glen, the chief secretary to the Treasury, will evaluation how this may be carried out, he says.
Hunt claims greater borrowing beneath Labour will result in greater taxes and better inflation
Hunt says Labour will improve borrowing, and that can improve debt.
Meaning greater taxes, greater mortgages and better inflation for households. That’s not an financial coverage. It’s an financial phantasm.
Hunt says he and Sunak need to make UK world’s subsequent Silicon Valley
Hunt says the ONS has lately revised its development figures. They stated the UK was the worst performing giant European economic system because the pandemic. However now the figures present the UK is without doubt one of the finest.
However he says he and Rishi Sunak care extra in regards to the future than the previous.
They need to make the UK the world’s subsequent Silicon Valley.
Jeremy Hunt says he final spoke to the the convention 5 years in the past, as international secretary.
He thought his time in politics was over. So it’s good to see the PM getting the over-50s again into work, he says.
From Isabel Hardman of the Spectator
The anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray has been ejected from a fringe assembly on the Conservative social gathering convention, PA Media reviews. PA says:
Bray was escorted from a gathering of the rightwing Bruges Group outdoors the safe zone in Manchester metropolis centre after interrupting a speaker.
Carrying a blue pro-EU T-shirt, Mr Bray stated: “The place are the Brexit advantages?”
After briefly grappling with an viewers member, he was escorted from the venue, persevering with to protest and describing the attendees as “losers”.
He stated: “Brexit advantages, my arse. What a load of bullshit, by no means heard a lot crap in my life.”
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is about to offer his speech to the convention.
Sunak has lastly taken choice to shelve Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2, reviews say
Rishi Sunak has formally determined to shelve the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2, ITV’s political editor, Robert Peston, is reporting. For greater than two weeks there have been reviews saying that is what Sunak was going to do, however till lately ministers have been claiming the ultimate choice had not been taken.
I’m advised the PM has now taken the choice to shelve the Manchester leg of HS2. Affirmation, and element of the re-allocation of funds to different transport initiatives within the north, will presumably come very quickly.
I’m advised the PM has now taken the choice to shelve the Manchester leg of HS2. Affirmation, and element of the re-allocation of funds to different transport initiatives within the north, will presumably come very quickly. https://t.co/6uyamo8A4W
— Robert Peston (@Peston) October 2, 2023
Civil service evaluation prone to advocate splitting position of cupboard secretary, Maude tells fringe assembly
Rowena Mason
Tory peer Francis Maude has signalled that splitting the position of cupboard secretary and stripping the Treasury of some finance powers are prone to be really useful in his evaluation of the civil service commissioned by the federal government.
Maude instructed his evaluation, anticipated to be revealed this autumn, would name for a devoted head of the civil service with new powers separate from the cupboard secretary.
“The cupboard secretary just isn’t the identical as a strong change supervisor,” he advised a fringe occasion at Tory convention. “A devoted head of civil service must be correctly empowered.”
He additionally instructed that he may very well be making suggestions about breaking apart the position of the Treasury. He stated the UK’s central authorities construction was “archaic” and different nations had totally different authorities structure. Maude stated no different nation has their finance powers in the identical place as their financial technique.
The previous Cupboard Workplace minister was talking on a panel together with his successor, Jeremy Quin, the present paymaster common, who stated this autumn would see the federal government carry ahead new steering on working from house for civil servants as a part of a “relentless give attention to driving productiveness”.
He may even herald new measures on performance-related pay for civil servants so as to “reward productiveness” however denied that there could be a “direct hyperlink” between being current within the workplace and being paid extra money.
On the “Nice British Progress Rally”, Dame Priti Patel has simply completed talking. She stated that Margaret Thatcher modified the UK for the higher and that the Conservatives wanted to undertake the identical method now. That was how they might differentiate themselves from the “socialist” Keir Starmer, she stated.
Listed here are some extracts from Liz Truss’s speech to the “Nice British Progress Rally”.
On company tax
I’m calling upon the chancellor on the autumn assertion to place company tax again all the way down to 19%.
And albeit, if we will get it decrease, the higher
What we all know is that financial development and making Britain develop once more just isn’t going to be delivered by the Treasury. It’s not going to be delivered by extra public spending. It’s not going to be delivered by extra regulation.
It’s going to be delivered by giving enterprise the liberty they should succeed.
On authorities spending
It has not been greater because the Nineteen Seventies. And actually it was decrease for many of the Nineteen Seventies, aside from 1975.
So we have to acknowledge that authorities is just too huge, taxes are too excessive and we’re spending an excessive amount of.
On fracking
We’re sitting on 50 years’ value of sustainable fuel.
Are you able to think about, if we unleash that, what that can imply for households, what that can imply for companies.
We will see from america that their power payments are half what our power payments are right here.
