Dont get me wrong Count, I have someone who works for me part-time, his fulltime job is with the council but whilst we are getting a pay increase this year he isnt and he didnt have one last year either. He, like many, is worried about his job security come March, although the council seems to be giving his dept an increasing workload so maybe he'll be safe.But whilst over the past few years he and his workmates have stayed stationary re payawards etc the middle management tier has been growing. Wont bore you with examples of injustice and waste as Im sure you get the point. Just agreeing that not all workers -or management-within the umbrella of "big government" are the same and that there are many who are hard working and want to do a good job and who now, like many, face uncertain times. I think that one of the dangers of the gamut of proposed cuts will be the growth of privatizations in these sectors. PCTs for example. Get rid of them and a lot of the works they do will still need doing and that will be done by private businesses. Ok, this will create job opportunities for those who will lose their jobs in the coming cuts, and privatization in itself is not a bad thing. But privatization is all about profit and shareholders and unless there is healthy competition I think we will all find a decline in services rather than an improvement. (And before anyone pipes up about the gvt passing the roles of PCTs to GPs being a very good thing because GPs will naturally be more inclined to look after their patients needs just ask yourself how long you have to wait to see "your"GP, or how many late nights they make themselves available for you, or how much they earn compared with you. Make no mistake; GP practices are run as businesses). I do not disagree with the need for cuts or the need for improved efficiency but I do also worry about the casualties of such cuts. Sadly, I cannot but agree with you about the immunityof the Whitehall "mandarins" either.