Civil servants who aren't up to scratch face Labour axe

Under-performing civil servants could be enticed to leave their jobs, and senior officials will have their pay linked to performance, under new government plans. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden has said that the state is not match-fit to rise to the moment our country faces” as he said ministers will fundamentally reshape” the service.

- CAITLIN DOHERTY

However a union has described the plans as a “retreading of failed narratives” and accused the government of delivering a “soundbite, not a credible plan for change”.

It is one in a series of reforms expected to be set out by the government this week that will also cover housing and regulation.

They will go alongside what officials are calling an “intervention” from the prime minister on Thursday.

In the plans to be announced by Mr McFadden at the start of the week, he will promise a new “mutually agreed exits” process, in which civil servants who cannot perform at the level required of them are persuaded to leave their jobs.

The system will be designed to give bosses more tools to address bad performance.