Civil service union urges honesty on public sector cuts amid austerity fears

The Bank of England. The government is ‘in a state of panic’ over soaring inflation, says Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Ministers “need to be honest with the public” that services will stop or be scaled back, the head of the union representing senior civil servants has said, amid fears a new era of austerity is about to be unleashed.

Concern was expressed by trade unions representing public sector workers in response to reports that departments are being asked to draw up plans for cuts aimed at reducing government borrowing as a result of the crisis sparked by Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget.