MOD fails to hit 30pc cut target in civil service

A GOVERNMENT plan to cut thousands of civil servants to help fill a black hole in the defence budget has apparently stalled, figures show.

The Ministry of Defence in 2015 vowed to cut numbers by 30 per cent by the end of the decade in efficiency savings that would balance the defence budget and help pay for new warships, planes, submarines and vehicles.

However, figures show that the Ministry of Defence has not been able to cut numbers at all so far. The numbers were disclosed as one of the Mod’s external consultancy firms estimated that the defence budget black hole could reach £30billion over the next decade.

Roland Sonnenberg, who heads defence consultancy at PWC, said: “UK defence is entering a difficult period; perhaps one of the most challenging periods in a generation, at a time when ambition within our armed forces shows no sign of abating.”

A fall in the pound after Brexit, the rising cost of equipment and an inability to find savings have all been blamed for the failure. The disclosure comes weeks after the Government was forced to announce it would look again at the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) amid fears it cannot pay for its military plans.

The MOD had 56,860 civilian personnel when the SDSR announced it would “reduce the number of civilians employed by the MOD by almost 30 per cent”, by 2020. But two years later it has 56,690, a fall of just 170 employees.

Last night the MOD insisted it was committed to the 30 per cent cut by 2020. An MOD spokesman said: “As is the case in any large organisation, this work will take time.”

Industry and union sources said there was debate in the MOD over whether to drop the target quietly when the SDSR is examined again.