Public sector growth continues apace
Over the last few weeks we have seen figures from the UK government suggesting that growth in employment in the public sector is still very strong. This has been one of Gordon Brown's favourite areas of investment over the last decade but there are concerns that the system is becoming too big, too cumbersome and too expensive to run.
There have been major concerns about the final salary pension schemes operated by public authorities across the UK and the growing impact they are having on taxpayer funding. Despite the fact that the private sector has had to, by enlarge, eradicate final salary pension schemes they are still very much the norm in the public sector. Quite how long this can continue remains to be seen as services are beginning to suffer in order to fund future pension arrangements.
There has also been much debate on the subject of "non-jobs" which have appeared in many local authorities across the country. This has fuelled the opinion that public services are in need of radical overhaul in the short to medium term and significantly improved rates of return sought. Whether Gordon Brown will be brave enough to do this in the current environment is very much open to debate but sooner or later the government of the day will need to broach the subject.
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