Low civil service morale could undermine Whitehall's ability to deliver public services while staff nervously await ministers' plans to axe thousands of jobs following last week's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), experts have claimed.

FDA, the organisation representing mandarins and other senior civil servants, issued a stark warning about the future productivity of central government departments following chancellor George Osborne's surprise decision to double Whitehall's administrative savings target over the next four years.