Whitehall Spends £1bn Cutting Staff - Then Takes on 15,000 (the Number it Axed)

Ministers have blown almost £1billion axing an army of bureaucrats - only to rehire the same huge number.

Government departments have cut almost 15,000 civil servants in the last three years, according to figures released by Parliament.

Because of the generous redundancy packages given to Whitehall officials, the average payout was £60,000 - a total cost to the public purse of £882million.

But despite the cull of Government waste, it can be revealed that ministries are taking on almost as many staff as they have ditched.

Figures from just five departments - including the Home Office and Department of Health - show that about 5,000 permanent, temporary and agency staff have been taken on.

If this is extended across all Government departments, the number of new staff will be around 15,000.

Hundreds of civil servants have walked away with pay-offs worth tens of thousands of pounds, with some taking £100,000.

Most of those taking voluntary redundancy are high earners - sparking fears the most experienced staff are disappearing from Whitehall.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said Whitehall had made annual efficiency savings of £26.5billion.

He said: 'The civil service continues to meet the challenge of doing more with less, becoming leaner while remaining the driving force behind the excellent public service available to all.'

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Excellent public service available to all??

Don't make me laugh!

Just another excercise in lining the pockets of the criminal public sector cronies!