FDA welcomes Chief Executive’s refreshing honesty that civil service is having to do ‘30% too much across the board’

28 Nov 2014 11:52 AM

Media reports have shown that in his first appearance before the Commons Public Accounts Committee, civil service Chief Executive John Manzoni told MPs that the civil service is having to do "30% too much across the board… No company would undertake the level of transformative change that this Government has".

In response, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said: "Civil servants up and down the country will welcome John Manzoni's refreshing honesty. Civil servants want to deliver the agenda for the Government of the day - it's in their DNA. But the Government needs to get better at understanding what is and isn't achievable.

"Building the capability to assess demands - and critically, to gain the confidence of Ministers in that assessment - will be a major task for the civil service as it faces a further round of unprecedented cuts in resources."

Notes for editors

1. The FDA is the trade union for the UK's senior public servants and professionals. FDA membership includes more than 18,000 senior civil servants, Government policy advisors, diplomats, tax professionals, economists, solicitors, prosecutors and other professionals work across Government and the NHS.
2. The FDA can be described as "the senior public servants' union" and should be referred to simply as "the FDA".
3. The FDA can be found on Twitter @FDA_union and at www.fda.org.uk.
4. For further information contact:
       · Dave Penman, General Secretary, tel: 020 7401 5555 or 07967 503827.
       · Kay Hender, Communications Manager, tel: 020 7401 5589 or 07980 700747.