National security warning as union says critical jobs are set to be cut

National security could be damaged by cuts to government vetting teams, a union boss has warned.

More than 100 jobs are expected to be shed at UK Security Vetting (UKSV), while the team supporting the UK's emergency Cobra committee also faces cuts. It comes as part of a wider effort to slim down the civil service.

The Cabinet Office proposes reducing UKSV to 780 roles, down from over 900, it is understood. And 10 staff specialising in chemical, biological and radiological threats are also at risk, on top of around 20 Cobra support workers. It comes as Rachel Reeves gives update on wealth tax calls as pressure mounts to target richest Brits

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Fran Heathcote, general secretary of the PCS union, said: "It is now evident that these cuts will undermine the delivery of essential public services and compromise key government functions, including those critical to national security and emergency preparedness."

UKSV vets people before they take up sensitive roles in the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office, as well as those who apply for Parliamentary passes. Around 110 jobs are expected to be cut, but insiders insist no final decisions have been made.

Most of the cuts are expected to come through voluntary redundancy or by not replacing people who leave. Some civil servants will be redeployed elsewhere, it is believed.

It has sparked concerns about the impact on UKSV's work. It was heavily criticised by the National Audit Office in 2023 over delays carrying out checks that, the watchdog said, risked hampering work on national security.

Writing in Civil Service World last year, UKSV's chief executive Trish Deghorn said the organisation had managed to turn itself around - in part due to increased staffing levels. A source told the PA news agency that the Cabinet Office had argued back-office staff working on UKSV's recovery were no longer required and the organisation's headcount could now be cut.

The cuts to Cobra follow a merger of Cabinet Office directorates working on crisis response and resilience, the source said. Ms Heathcote said the union had warned officials had "failed to distinguish between back-office and frontline roles".

She said the union "will continue to stand firmly with our members in opposing these damaging cuts". And she added: "We will defend their job security and the vital work they do to keep the country running safely and effectively."

A Government spokesman said: "We don't routinely comment on national security staffing. More broadly, we are making the department more strategic, specialist and smaller, helping existing teams better serve the public and deliver the plan for change."

Alex Burghart, Tory shadow chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, said it "beggars belief" that the Government is "cutting back on our national security and emergency infrastructure".

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