Unfortunately for them they have to ask for volunteers first and hope that will work. If not, it’s first in last out which means they lose all the young and get to keep all the old. Thanks to demographics, there are a lot of old simple serpents due to retire soon, these folks will volunteer for redundancy.
Not wishing you to keep it to myself, enjoy
As we look forward to the Jubilee this weekend, I hope that wherever you work in government you will be able to take a moment to enjoy the fantastic celebrations and to reflect with pride on everything you have achieved over these last few years.
Together we have come through some of the greatest challenges that any post-war government has ever faced, and I want to say a huge thank you to every one of you.
Britain’s civil servants have been at the forefront of an historic national effort, remarkable even by the highest standards of public service that have defined this world-leading institution for generations.
With your support, we got Brexit done and unlocked the deadlock in Parliament that had paralysed our country for too long. We came through the worst pandemic for a century, delivering the furlough scheme that protected so many livelihoods, and the testing and vaccines that allowed us to retain one of the most open economies and societies anywhere across our continent.
At the same time, last year we also delivered major international summits - with the G7 in Cornwall and COP26 in Glasgow, the biggest political gathering of any kind ever held in the UK with 194 countries represented.
To achieve all of this and more, in such exceptional circumstances, required government to rise to the occasion, tooling up with thousands more public servants. As a result, our civil service has grown by over 20 per cent since 2016.
But as we move on to new challenges - including tackling the aftershocks of the pandemic and growing the economy to address the cost of living - we no longer require the State to have the same colossal presence in people’s lives. And rolling back the State in turn means we will also need fewer civil servants.
I profoundly believe that the public service you provide is a great and noble calling, but we must also remember that every penny of it is paid for by the taxpayer. That money is not the government’s money, it’s the people’s money - hard-earned pounds that we share a moral duty to spend judiciously.
So we must ensure the cost of government is no greater than absolutely necessary to deliver for the people we serve. And as many families and businesses now look at how to reduce their costs in a period of higher global inflation, it is right that we do the same.
That is why I have asked my Ministerial team and Permanent Secretaries to develop proposals to return the civil service to the size it was in 2016.
I know that this will cause concern and uncertainty and I am sorry for that. It is why I want us to complete this work swiftly and to provide every possible support to anyone affected by the changes that follow.
Even with these changes, we are retaining a very substantial civil service - as we had in 2016 - and we are taking forward an exciting programme of modernisation that will create better jobs. This includes investing in the skills you’ll need for the future, with new training and better access to technology, and opening up more opportunities outside London, closer to the people we serve.
I know the period of change ahead will not be easy but I am confident it is the right way to take forward the civil service that we all cherish, delivering the greatest possible value for the taxpayer and ensuring it remains as fit to meet the challenges of the future as it has been in the past.
So I’m grateful for your forbearance as we work to get this right, and allow me to thank you once again for all that you do in the service of our great country.
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The issue here is that there has been a substantial increase in central government civil servants, sure, but a reduction at local authority level. This government has centralised things; by cutting that staff level now, what is the plan for actually getting stuff done?
It’s a rhetorical question. There is no plan, only cut.
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Moving rocks around again. 3 metres done, just another 747 metres to go on this site.
View from lunch spot was OK though.
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A shorter West Devon circuit today as Harry had to be back for 3 but still some nice sights.
Lamerton, where we started, is a small village with a church, a pub, a villge hall & not too much else. Lovely spot though & I hadn’t really looked at the church & its surroundings before.
I liked this 13thC Priest’s house just next to the churchyard.
St Peter’s
I liked this place.
The first part of the walk was mainly sunken lanes connecting various farms, banks still teeming with wild flowers but few views til we approached Longcross
The dog was quick to find a suitable bathing spot
Striking roses on an old wall
According to the map there are remnants of an abandoned village in one of the fields NW of Longcross but from our vantage point today we couldn’t make them out. Will need to return & look more closely. (first field going up the slope allegedly)
The route back was less on lanes & more cross country past a newish coarse fishing spot I haven’t tried.
Hurlditch Court
Crossing a final stream before returning to the village we noticed (& watched for 5 minutes) this healthy looking chap doing his circuits on the beach. 2pm, broad daylight but, it would seem, rarely disturbed & we didn’t.
Good to see the local primary school making the effort although the Queen faces were actually a bit creepy up close.
Hooray, the heavy rain from this morning didn’t reappear!
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Gan out drinking with the three sisters in Clapham tomorrow night. Now resigned to the fact that I am the hapless English cousin in Derry Girls.
The weekend is the full Northern Irish / hockey / lesbian / Abba Venn diagram and I mostly plan to drink myself into a coma.
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Get away, you’ll have a great time !
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Most of my alcohol assisted coma dreams involve very similar cirumstances! 
I pine for such nights, even while painfully aware I’m way past surviving them…
Document or your epitaph is lost
Sushinoen for lunch with Flo.
Starters - takoyaki, tempura squid and tuna belly sashimi.
Mains - eel dragon rolls, soft-shell crab maki and pork ramen. Fecking delish, as usual 
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Ooh that looks better than ever.
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They’ve obviously been studying @stu’s Uncle Ben artistry for presentation tips. They’re getting there.
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Been Karting and Laser Questing with the kids today, it was fun!
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VTA, etc…
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