“Pursuing headcount reductions & efficiency targets without a plan for what skills need to be retained for the future is counterproductive & staff know this.”
FDA's Lauren Crowley responds as People Survey 2025 shows staff conerns about transformation.
www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...
Great to hear John O'Dowd MLA, Minister of Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive, with responsibility for the NICS, address the FDA Northern Ireland Conference on the scale of the fiscal challenge in NI and need for a fairer financial settlement combined with transformation of public services.
19.02.2026 15:20 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
"If space is under used, the solution should be practical: making better use of offices or repurposing them, not suggesting civil servants are failing in their duties"
FDA' Allan Sampson on the realities of hybrid working for civil servants Scottish Govt.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2586745...
Read more on the FDA's response following the departure of Sir Chris Wormald as Cabinet Secretary on our website:
www.fda.org.uk/news/new-low...
"A new low for this government and its relationship with the Civil Service... Wormald had barely started in the Cabinet Secretary role before the anonymous briefings started to scapegoat him and undermine his authority." - @fdagensec.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
12.02.2026 20:20 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
We fight for your pay and represent you when it matters most.
Our members also enjoy a range of exclusive discounts to help make your money go further, from shopping and travel to entertainment and wellbeing.
#FDA #FDAMembers #MemberBenefits #MemberDiscounts
"It is farcical that a decision has not already been reached"
@fdagensec.bsky.social responds to the latest publication of UK Parliament’s Restoration & Renewal Board.
A full decant of the estate is the safest, quickest, and cheapest way to make parliament safe
www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
"Morale in the Treasury is pretty low... Many are worried about redeployment, the risk of redundancy, and the lack of career progression opportunities." - FDA National Officer Robert Eagleton www.ft.com/content/2f71...
02.02.2026 10:05 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
FDA welcomes hardship funds for members affected by pension administration failures.
Assistant General Secretary Adrian Prandle tells @civilserviceworld.bsky.social FDA will work to ensure "all of those in need of hardship loans are able to access them”.
www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...
98% of His Majesty’s Inspectors work beyond their hours.
89% say it harms their wellbeing.
Only 9% feel supported.
Public service shouldn’t come at the cost of personal health. Read our latest report 👉 www.fda.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Responding to the NI Audit Office report on the NICS, @robertmurtagh1.bsky.social tells Stephen Nolan “there's a context as to why the pace of change maybe isn't what people would hope, but the idea that the civil service isn't changing, that is not the case”
28.01.2026 10:27 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, FDA National Officer @robertmurtagh1.bsky.social tells @williamcrawley.bsky.social that the "siloed" structure of the NICS presents a challenge to delivering transformation, and that ministers must "make sure that resources are available" across departments.
27.01.2026 16:32 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Responding to today's NI Audit Office report, FDA National Officer @robertmurtagh1.bsky.social tells @belfastlive.co.uk the report highlights "significant issues", but does not "sufficiently analyse the difficult context within which the NICS is operating".
www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/norther...
"Recognising and addressing long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework introduced by Ofsted." - @fdagensec.bsky.social
22.01.2026 13:57 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
The cover of the FDA union report Beyond the Framework: The people behind inspections
Our new research reveals Ofsted’s inspection system is straining the very people who make it work: His Majesty’s Inspectors.
The public value their role, but conditions need urgent reform. Read the full report: www.fda.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Following today’s speech from @darrenpjones.bsky.social, @fdagensec.bsky.social pressed him on “whether the govt can convince civil servants, who have too often been scapegoated by politicians, to take risks without knowing they won’t get quickly blamed by ministers when those risks don’t work out”
20.01.2026 16:10 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0“If civil servants are to take the risks that innovation brings, then ministers need to provide the political cover for the risk of failure. They will need to be convinced that the rhetoric and political reality align”, @fdagensec.bsky.social tells @chris-smyth.bsky.social
20.01.2026 15:48 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
FDA research finds:
98% of HMI are working beyond their contracted hours
89% of HMI say this is harming their wellbeing
62% say Ofsted does nothing to address HMI working overtime
Addressing these long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework
Image of FDA press release stating that the Integrated Public Sector Pay and Workforce Policy ‘quietly hard-wires job losses into pay’.
FDA National Officer Allan Sampson says the new Integrated Pay & Workforce Policy, announced today in the Scottish Budget, “quietly locks pay rises to job cuts and means civil servants will absorb the pressure while being asked to deliver more. Reform needs investment, not managed decline”.
13.01.2026 17:25 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0At today’s @instituteforgovernment.org.uk annual conference, I asked @darrenpjones.bsky.social how he responds to concerns about the fragmentation of responsibilities, including changes to his own role, preventing civil service reform.
13.01.2026 15:55 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
“Members rely on accurate and timely information from their pensions administrator to make major decisions about leaving the civil service & retiring”
FDA's Adrian Prandle tells @civilserviceworld.bsky.social that "it is clear that faster solutions are required” from Capita.
Transforming public services will not happen by trotting out tired old tropes about the civil service.
This is not the approach of a serious govt, its an intellectually corrupt process designed to deliver a headline not efficient or effective public services.
www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...
At @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's annual conference, I asked Wes Streeting what he is doing to give staff in the NHS and civil service the support and stability they need to deliver public services and drive efficiencies whilst navigating the uncertainties of major organisational restructures.
13.01.2026 11:26 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
"This is unacceptable... Our members cannot expect to put their lives on hold any longer.”
FDA's Adrian Prandle tells @theipaper.com the union is pressing for a rapid improvement to service levels from the administrator of the civil service pension scheme.
inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...
"Civil servants want to do a good job. They want to deliver good public services. If a Reform government were elected, they would want to help them do that."
@fdagensec.bsky.social tells @gbnewsonline.bsky.social he is sceptical of reports of mass exits from the civil service if Reform is elected.
After reports of civil service over-regulation & obstruction stopping Labour delivering, I told @rowenamason.bsky.social the civil service didn’t put the system in place, ministers did & it’s entirely within govt’s power to change it. But it can only change if there’s strong political will to do so.
03.01.2026 12:54 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
“Inspectors must have the right tools to do the job. We will be pressing management to deliver a long-term solution.” - FDA National Officer Matt Newman
schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-enact...
“FDA members have been very clear that the current situation with EEG is unacceptable... we remain concerned that there does not appear to be a strategy in place to resolve the underlying issue.” - FDA National Officer Matt Newman
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
"You can have a bigger or smaller civil service but your plans have got to have a bit of coherence... I think that was the bit missing."
@fdagensec.bsky.social speaks to Alex Armstrong @gbnewsonline.bsky.social about Reform UK’s announcement on civil service reform.
Discussing the Employment Rights Bill, @fdagensec.bsky.social tells @listentotimesradio.bsky.social that by moving the threshold for claiming unfair dismissal to 6 months but abolishing the cap on compensation, the government has reached a "good compromise" to ensure the legislation passes.
09.12.2025 09:09 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
