Spending Review & Pay Freeze


How the 2020 Spending Review affects the Home Office




Home Office budget increased but......

The results of the 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review have been published although it's not as "comprehensive" as usual as it covers 1 year rather than the more usual 3 years. It includes yet another pay freeze, or below-inflation increase, for public servants whose standard of living since 2010 has been slashed by almost 20%. In contrast, the Home Office budget for 2021/22 has been increased by 5% next year.

What it means for us

Since 2010 civil servants have seen our pay either frozen or increases capped at 1% in 9 out of the last 11 years meaning real terms pay cuts throughout that extended period. In a policy that will further damage the economy and impact civil servants, firefighters, teachers, the armed forces, police, council and government agency staff it is believed that the latest decision by government will see around 2.1 million public sector workers who earn below £24,000 receiving £250, or about £3 per week after tax, with a further 1.3 million suffering a complete pay freeze.

The right-leaning thinktank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has reportedly criticised the government decision to freeze public sector pay as being driven by “politics not by economics”.

If you haven't yet signed the PCS pay petition (above) to push for a debate in parliament on public sector pay do it now. Over 100,000 have already signed but the more the better. The petition is not restricted to civil servants so friends and relatives can sign too.

Home Office Budget 2012/22

The Home Office budget has been increased by 5%. Let's see what's included:

  • Ongoing recruitment of 20,000 police officer to replace most of the 21,000 cut by the Tories since 2010.

£400 million

  • Brexit transition eg. to maintain law enforcement co-operation with the EU and recruitment of Border Force staff to cover transit customs arrangements after Brexit.

£363 million

  • Future Borders and Immigration System (FBIS), another points-based system.

£217 million

  • Improving domestic nuclear security.

£82 million

  • Tackling economic crime which could start with PPE contracts granted to Tory party donors and friends, relatives of senior government figures (but it won't).

£63 million

  • A shiny new Counter Terrorism Operations Centre.

£32 million

  • Tackling child sexual exploitation

£30 million

  • Tackling serious youth violence which could start by reopening the youth centres closed due to austerity policies since 2010 (but it won't).

£30 million

  • Cost of living increase increase for staff who have worked from home, or in their normal workplaces, or have provided assistance to other government departments to help keep public services going during the pandemic.

Diddly squat

Click here to see initial views on the announcements from PCS.

26 Nov 20

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