Livelihoods of civil servants

That this House recognises the vital services that civil servants deliver every day, from securing borders to delivering benefits, from renewing passports and driving licences to ensuring tax revenues are collected; further recognises that the public services delivered by government workers touch all of our lives; notes that it is therefore concerning that the livelihoods of these workers are suffering as the value of their pay has fallen significantly with many thousands of civil servants now claiming in-work benefits and relying on the national living wage increases for a pay rise and that while pay falls short of cost-of-living increases the same staff face continued uncertainty over job security, office closures, attacks on flexible working and the impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence; understands that the largest trade union in the civil service, the Public and Commercial Services union has put forward a set of reasonable demands aimed at seeking guarantees and assurances for their members which, if met, would address these issues; and urges the Government to negotiate with the union with a view to reaching an agreement that gives those working in the civil service and related areas the assurances they deserve.