Several government departments, in an effort to show they have reduced the number of civil servants they employ, have taken on “consultants” instead. To demonstrate that they are genuinely consultants and not merely individuals, they are instructed by the relevant department that, rather than invoice as sole traders, they have to set themselves up as limited companies to be able to invoice for their services. It is quite possible that some may pay less tax by this arrangement. Most do not, since their private companies have to pay corporation tax and they then have to pay income tax on the receipts from their companies.

These “civil servants” benefit from no holiday pay, sickness pay, employment protection, pension or employee rights. They can be laid off with a month’s notice or, in some cases, no notice at all. Far from being a matter of individuals trying to avoid paying tax, this arrangement is a matter of government departments trying to cook the books by showing a lower number of civil servants working in the department, and wishing to avoid their responsibilities as employers.

what the UK is doing is the envy of people in Washington.” We now know that the US has had 11 straight quarters of growth; Britain is in recession and output is lower than it was in the third quarter of 2010.

The Immigration Service Union, which includes most of the passport desk staff among its 4,500 members, said it was notifying the Cabinet Office that it intended to take part in the industrial action next Thursday.

Ministers had announced an extra 80 “back-office” immigration staff were to be drafted in to work on the passport desks at the busiest times, after prime minister David Cameron and home secretary Theresa May agreed it was time to “get a grip” on the unacceptable queues at Heathrow. The move raised hopes that the worst of the passport crisis might be over.

The former head of the UK Border Force, Brodie Clark, voiced concerns over a contingency plan to bring in a 600-strong “volunteer force” to staff border posts during the Olympic Games in July and August, when more than 660,000 extra visitors are expected.

Clark warned that using volunteers from other parts of the UK Border Agency and Revenue and Customs could leave gaps in defending the border against smuggled drugs, weapons and other contraband. He also warned that plans to cancel border staff leave during the Olympics could result in severe difficulties in September and October, when there is a surge in overseas students at the start of the academic year.

Hopes of an immediate respite for passengers facing lengthy passport queues at Heathrow and other British airports have been dashed after immigration border staff announced their intention to join next week’s civil service strike over pensions.

Whitehall departments from now on will have to buy their training through a government agency, Civil Service Learning, run by the private company, Capita.

The new learning “gateway”, which came into force at the beginning of April, is the third seismic shakeup in the provision of training for the UK civil service over the past 15 years.

The third major shakeup, a direct result of the first delayed by 15 years, was the closure of the national school, and its replacement, after almost two years of dithering, with a private sector provider. Capita now has a £50m contract to provide civil service training, with the proviso that 51% of that training has to be outsourced.

The new arrangement could potentially lead to the empowerment of line managers at a much lower level, and any increase in responsibility lower down the chain of command in the huge departments of state is to be welcomed. Civil servants only function well in my experience if they are really empowered, and they very seldom are.

Individual civil servants, their HR chaperones, and their learning and development managers across Whitehall were delighted and flocked in their thousands to attend the training courses offered by the new providers.

A decade from now, nearly 7,000 civil servants will be retiring each year – almost twice the number last year.
That is according to the latest civil service figures submitted to the Legislative Council, which show that 3,900 staff retired last year.

Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue Chung-yee insisted the government is on top of the situation and dismissed suggestions that there is a staffing gap in the service.

In response to lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan, who expressed fears of a staffing gap in the civil service, Yue said that different government departments have already implemented various training programs to guarantee smooth succession.

She said these include training and development opportunities for civil servants at all levels to enrich their exposure and enable them to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for promotion to senior posts.

Eligible are all full-time employees – including civil servants, non-civil service contract staff and political appointees who have done a minimum of 40 weeks’ continuous service. About 3,000 staff are expected to benefit each year.