Departments will be asked next week to reduce spending by 10% by 2028-29, says Cabinet Office source
The civil service will be told to slash more than £2bn a year from its budget by the end of the decade as part of the government’s spending review, with unions warning of significant job losses, the Guardian understands.
The Cabinet Office will tell departments to cut their administrative budgets by 15%, which is expected to save £2.2bn a year by 2029-30.
Continue reading...Warning by vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice comes as ‘Silicon Valley’ planned between Oxford and Cambridge
The University of Cambridge risks “losing unbelievable talent” owing to a drop-off in funding for PhDs, the vice-chancellor has cautioned.
Prof Deborah Prentice, who took over as vice-chancellor in 2023, described PhD students as “the lifeblood” of the university’s research and innovation work, and expressed concern that funding from research councils had “dropped off significantly”.
Continue reading...Government publishes AI opportunities action plan amid backdrop of economic uncertainty in UK
In an interview with Times Radio, Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, rejected suggestions that the government should try to halt the rollout of AI because of the potential impact on jobs. That would be like pressing the “pause button” on history, he said.
At what point in history would you have us press the pause button? This is the story of historical and economic change. And we’re on the threshold of another huge one. And the country’s got to seize the opportunities from this.
If we, again, follow the logic of your questioning, just try to press the pause button in previous history, then we’d never have become an industrialised country in the first place.
As the prime minister has made clear, AI is no longer an if, or even a when; it is here, and it is urgent. The opportunities for Britain’s economy and our public services are too great for us to ignore. This has to be the government’s priority.
Public sector workers are overwhelmed and overworked, with many choosing to leave rather than try to make a broken system work. The result is a doom loop of growing backlogs, worsening outcomes and rising failure demand. The real impact of this is felt not just by those workers, but by the British public who can’t get doctors’ appointments, the benefits they are entitled to, and the high-quality education they and their children deserve.
Continue reading...Starmer and Reeves unlikely to reverse winter fuel and two-child benefit cap decisions, says Pat McFadden
A senior cabinet minister has warned of more economic pain to come as the government prepares to restrict public spending in ways MPs and campaigners say could exacerbate the cost of living crisis.
Pat McFadden, the cabinet office minister, said on Sunday that voters should expect the government to take further difficult decisions, as Keir Starmer prepares to give a speech accusing the Conservatives of leaving the country in “rubble and ruin”.
Continue reading...Chancellor suggests budget, on 30 October, will involve tax rises and cuts to spending and benefits
Downing Street has refused to comment on a report saying junior doctors are being offered a pay rise worth about 20% over two years.
In a story for the Times, Steven Swinford reports:
The British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee has recommended an offer that includes a backdated pay rise of 4.05 per cent for 2023-24, on top of an existing increase of between 8.8 per cent and 10.3 per cent.
Junior doctors will be given a further pay rise of 6 per cent for 2024-25, which will be topped up by a consolidated £1,000 payment. This is equivalent to a pay rise of between 7 per cent and 9 per cent.
As we’ve said before, we’re committed to working to find a solution, resolving this dispute, but I can’t get into detailed running commentary on negotiations.
We’ve been honest with the public and the sector about the economic circumstances we face. But the government is determined to do the hard work necessary to finally bring these strikes to an end.
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