PCS on Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

Republished from PCS website
The chancellor has today announced more cuts in government departmental budgets and an increase in state pension age.

George Osborne said in his autumn statement that UK state pension age is to increase more rapidly to 68, making it one of the highest in the developed world.

State pension age will increase to 68 in the mid-2030s and to 69 in the late 2040s.

In future, civil service pension age will be linked to state pension age. This means that people in their 40s will not receive a full civil service pension until they are 68, while people in their 20s will now have to wait until they are 70.

The reality of such a policy is that two thirds of Britons will fail to reach the state retirement age of 68 free from disability, according to the 2001 census data analysed by Professor Sir Michael Marmott.

The change to 68 ignores the reality of the shorter healthy life expectancy of the poorest people by simply reflecting the increasing life spans of the healthy and wealthy.

It is a discriminatory policy and requires an urgent equality impact assessment and review by the EHRC.

We are backing the 68 is too late campaign against the increases in state pension age. Email you MP today to oppose these pension changes.

Departments can’t cope

An additional £2.1 billion worth of cuts from departmental budgets was announced by George Osborne today. These will be delivered over the next two financial years and will mean:

  • Defence having to find £277m in 14/15
  • Education £167m
  • Business £157m
  • Home Office £118m
  • Department for Work and Pensions £84m
  • and Justice £77m.

These cuts will undoubted lead to further cuts and privatisation plans. Government departments, already struggling under budget cuts and the loss of tens of thousands of civil servants, will simply not be able to cope.

We are continuing to campaign against staff cuts and privatisation.