New UK government for major cuts in official perks

LONDON: British civil servants are in for an age of forced austerity as the David Cameron government draws up extensive plans to cut the 156 billion pounds budget deficit - including cuts in the number of drivers, flight travel and costly hotel accommodation.

The major cuts in perks are part of plans that involve job cuts of nearly 300,000 public sector workers over the next few years, severe reduction in official waste, and closing down of government-funded agencies.

Cameron has announced that he will bear the cost of refurbishing the Prime Minister's official residence before moving into the two-bedroom apartment above Number 10, Downing Street.

The first wave of cuts is likely to include severe restrictions on Whitehall travel and accommodation.

An official audit has revealed how officials spend 125 million pounds a year on taxis, 320 million pounds on hotels and 70 million pounds on flights every year.

The recent audit also revealed that the British government spends 580 million pounds a year on office furniture, 1 billion pounds on advertising and 700 million pounds on other marketing and media, The Sunday Times reported today.

Chancellor George Osborne is scheduled announce details of the job cuts tomorrow.

The plans are intended to save 6 billion pounds in the first year of the coalition government.

The plans are expected to include job cuts in the National Health Service.

Grants announcement by the Gordon Brown government in its final days in office are also expected to be cut.

The Foreign Office is also expected to announce the closure of some overseas offices shortly.

An audit has revealed widespread waste where different British government agencies operate out of separate sites in the same city.