CIVIL service union PCS pledged to fight for a properly staffed Cabinet Office after it was announced that the department expects to slash its workforce by a third.

About 1,200 jobs are set to get the axe under the plans, while another 900 are expected to be transferred to other departments.

The Cabinet Office currently employs approximately 6,500 “core staff” who play a key role in co-ordinating government efforts and serve at the strategic heart of Whitehall.

A Cabinet Office source said: “Leading by example, we are creating a leaner and more focused Cabinet Office that will drive work to reshape the state and deliver our plan for change.

“This government will target resources at front-line services — with more teachers in classrooms, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat.”

About 540 voluntary redundancy applications as part of the plans.

Along with other restructuring reforms, the cuts are expected to save £110 million a year by 2028, the Cabinet Office said.

It comes after  Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged reform and wrote to workers in the sector urging for the need for a “more agile, mission-focused and more productive” Civil Service.

In last month’s Spring Statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to cut Civil Service running costs by 15 per cent by the end of the decade.

PCS says it will be arguing for a properly staffed Cabinet Office and seeking a guarantee on no compulsory redundancies or relocations.

The union’s general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Our members in the Cabinet Office should be focused on driving the positive change promised by the government. 

“It is difficult to understand how a threat to their livelihoods will help that focus. 

“We will be negotiating hard to ensure that their needs are taken care of.”

The Prospect union general secretary Mike Clancy said: “The Cabinet Office has an important role to play operating the machinery of government, driving efficiency and reform, and ensuring other departments are fully aligned with and able to deliver the government’s missions.

“Blunt cuts of this scale will make it harder to play that role and could impact on delivery across government.

“Prospect will engage with the Cabinet Office throughout this process and will seek an assurance that there will be no compulsory redundancies.”