Labour ministers have for months been talking tough about slimming down the civil service, though the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero appears to have missed the memo. Figures quietly released show that since Red Ed took over the joint, the department has ballooned in headcount and costs…
In July 2024, DESNZ and its agencies employed 8,984 full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff, with an annual staffing cost of £65.6 million. That includes annual salaries, allowances, gold-plated pensions and consultancy fees. By April 2025, that had surged to 12,548 FTEs – an increase of 3,564 roles. The total staffing bill rose to £82 million, a hike of £16.4 million or 25%. A reminder that Reeves promised in March to cut Whitehall running costs by 15%. Running pricey net zero schemes and managing the comms fallout doesn’t come cheap…
Speaking on Times Radio, former Home Secretary David Blunkett spoke about overdiagnosis of mental problems:
“Let’s distinguish those who are really severely mentally ill, diagnosed with things that require prolonged medical and diagnostic treatment. My wife and I talk about this a lot, because she’s a retired GP, about the fact that you can be sad without being ill. You can be momentarily depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend’s just thrown you and you’re not mentally ill. You can even have mild issues, which can be dealt with with the right kind of support, but it doesn’t make you mentally ill. So we’ve got a real task, I think, to get the psychology, if you like, of this over. But there are things where you definitely need medical intervention, and there are other things where you need good friends, you need good connectivity, and you need a job.”