Moves to cut posts blasted by SNP

The SNP has condemned plans by the prime minister to cut 90,000 civil service jobs.

The party’s deputy Westminster leader, Kirsten Oswald, said the plans are “detached from reality”.

Ms Oswald, the MP for East Renfrewshire, suggested Scotland could be hit hard by the “staggering” proposals.

Ms Oswald said: “These staggering plans from the prime minister are completely detached from reality.

“As families and households up and down the country are terrified to open their bills and face soaring energy and shopping prices, threatening a fifth of civil service staff with the sack is shameful.

“Figures show that the percentage of job cuts in reserved departments in Scotland has almost been double that of the rest of the UK.

“The DWP, HMRC and MoD have all shown far greater falls in job numbers than the rest of the UK over the past decade, despite boasts in 2011 about how many jobs the Westminster government controlled in Scotland.

“Scotland has already paid the price of Westminster government job cuts. It would therefore be another example of how out of touch the Westminster government is in Scotland if it sacks even more civil servants in Scotland.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The PM and ministers are clear that the civil service does an outstanding job delivering for the public and driving progress on the government’s priorities.

“But when people and businesses across the country are facing rising costs, the public rightly expect their government to lead by example and run as efficiently as possible.”