Plans to reduce the size of the civil service launched in 2007 are progressing faster than expected, according to a report seen by the Financieele Dagblad.

Of the planned 12,800 civil service jobs due to be scrapped by 2011, 11,485 had already gone by the end of 2010. These are full-time jobs at ministries and independent outside organisations.
However, the true total is 6,000, the paper quotes the report as saying. This is because several ministries were exempt from the job reduction scheme introduced by then prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende. Some were even allowed to take on extra people.
For instance, the number of people employed by the justice ministry and the police grew by 3,900 and at the defence ministry by 500, the report shows.
The aim in 2007 was to save €630m.
The present cabinet under Mark Rutte wants to make cuts of €6bn in the size of the national government. These savings will be found in ministry and outside organisations and by wage freezes. For instance, 6,000 jobs are to go at the defence ministry.
But the government also wants to employ more police officers and nurses to meet election commitments.