Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 7 January 2015 to the hon. Member for Southport, by what proportion the Government has reduced the size of the Civil Service before adjusting for machinery of government changes.

As part of this Government's long-term economic plan to pay down the deficit and help the country live within its means, we have reduced the size of the Civil Service. It has shrunk by 16% since the 2010 General Election, or 21% once adjusted for Machinery of Government changes that moved staff into the Civil Service since the last General Election. This represents a significant increase in efficiency and productivity, and has helped save taxpayers £2.4bn last year alone, compared to spending in the year before the 2010 General Election.