Chancellor’s failure to properly invest in public services is a false economy, says FDA

Responding to today’s Budget, presented to Parliament by The Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman says:
 
“The Chancellor’s failure to properly invest in public services is a false economy. As I made clear, alongside fellow TUC General Secretaries, in a letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Budget, decimating services to prioritise politically motivated tax cuts is not the right approach.
 
“This doesn’t have to be a binary choice; strategic investment can deliver greater revenue for the Treasury.
 
“The government has historically received a return of at least £6.30 for every £1 invested in HMRC compliance, yet over the last 12 months we’ve seen a reduction in staff headcount. HMRC today has 6,000 fewer employees than back in 2011, yet the number of taxpayers has increased by more than 16% during that same period.
 
“Civil servants can’t keep doing more with less – the best way to genuinely increase productivity and ultimately deliver better public services is to invest in the people delivering those services.”