Government cuts are 'right move at the wrong time', warns CIPD

The £6.24 billion of public spending cuts announced yesterday by Chancellor George Osborne are well-directed in their detail but could nevertheless knock the economic recovery, CIPD chief economic adviser John Philpott has warned.The first instalment of cuts included a freeze on civil service recruitment; a reduction in quangos, including regional development agencies; a slashed fund for IT projects; and a reduction in departmental budgets, including £836 million from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. David Laws, the chief secretary to the Treasury who shared the platform with Osborne, said the cuts were “just the first step on the long road to restoring good management of our public finances”.