Public and Commercial Services Union

The department has written to our union regarding their latest review entitled 'Value for money review: civilian workforce'. The letter we received regarding the review and terms of reference are attached below.

The review has been initiated following a letter from the prime minister to the department asking for more job cuts to be offered up.

Please note that we are seeking urgent meetings on this review and that this is all the information we have at present. It is clear however that:

1. All parts of MOD (bar DE&S and London Buildings) are impacted by the review.
2. As many as 7,000 posts could be at risk. This is on top of the 13,000 jobs which have already gone and the 8,500 planned under CTLB streamlining and DE&S Future Options/PACE.
3. MOD may be forced to run another early release scheme in addition to the current one to handle the 2007 comprehensive spending review cuts.

We will, of course, keep all members updated as more information becomes available. It is clear to us however that this is disastrous news and means we must re-double our efforts to fight job cuts at every level of the MOD.

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Letter from department re. 'Value for money review: civilian workforce'

Dear Mr Berry and Mr White,

I am writing to let you know that, as part of a broader drive for Value for Money across all Government Departments to ensure the long-term affordability of their core programmes, we have agreed to examine the size of the civilian workforce outside the boundary of the administration cost regime (ACR) and identify the scope for savings.

The first stage in this process is to establish our current baseline position (as at 31 March 2008), and plans/assumptions over the coming years out to 2011/12, and we have written to Top Level Budget Holders to request this information.

This process is designed to recognise the extensive work the Department has done to support the front line by bearing down on overheads across Defence, and the plans already in place to deliver further savings, notably through the PACE and Streamlining initiatives that contribute to meeting the ACR.

We will then need to review the scope in other areas to make levels of savings similar to those already being delivered within the ACR. We are clear that we will only consider doing so where it does not damage support to the Department’s priority – supporting current operations – and where we do not create perverse incentives to substitute civilian manpower with Service personnel.

Draft terms of reference are attached for your formal consideration. In accordance with Departmental policy, you have 10 working days in which to comment.

I or my colleague Roger Hutton would be happy to meet with you to discuss the way forward, and will keep you engaged throughout the process.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Miller

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Draft terms of reference

Value for Money Review: Civilian Workforce

AIM

1. To investigate/identify new Value for Money (VFM) savings within the Civilian workforce, specifically those currently excluded from the Administrative Cost Regime (ACR), during the CSR 07 period and beyond.

PRINCIPLES

2. The level of challenge in the review should be similar to that of the ACR. There should be minimal detrimental impact on the skills profile of the workforce and military manpower should not to be used as a substitute.

GOVERNANCE

3. DGRP, with DGCP, will lead this review, reporting to the Finance Director. Command Secretaries and their staffs will need to be closely involved throughout.

DELIVERABLES

4. The Department is conducting work to:

• establish the baseline position for planned civilian workforce over the CSR period, divided between those captured in the ACR and those outside it; and
• set out existing plans to reduce these areas of the civilian workforce over the CSR07 period.

5. Once the baseline position has been established, we will conduct a review to:

• identify possible further areas for reductions in non-ACR areas, guided by the ACR target of 5% annual savings;
• assess the scope to deliver these reductions by restricting recruitment; and
• identify any requirement for a further Early Release Scheme, and its potential cost.

TIMING

6. Conclusions from the review phase will be used to inform decisions in PR 09; we will aim to complete this phase during the course of this year.