11 April 2003
Government reform of unemployment services, announced in this week's Budget, could lead to 'widespread short-termism' across the sector, the leading civil servants' union has claimed.
Officials at the Public and Commercial Services union, which represents jobcentre staff, said Gordon Brown's decision to loosen Whitehall's grip on employment services would backfire unless the government scraps plans to shed up to 20,000 jobcentre posts by 2005/06.
Brown's Budget proposals include allowing centres to decide grants for training and financial support for job seekers. The chancellor promised to scrap 'ring-fencing' of jobcentre budgets so that local management teams can decide how best to improve regional employment programmes.
But the chancellor warned jobcentre staff they face a performance inspection regime that 'will accord higher rewards to top managers with provision to change the management of the worst-performing'.
While the PCS welcomed the proposed spending freedoms, a spokesman said the inspection regime 'could be a stumbling block to successful reform'.
He added: 'The wrong type of performance-related regime could encourage short-term solutions, forcing managers to rush people into work to meet bottom-line targets. That would not solve structural unemployment problems in many areas.'
He added the new freedoms would not work if the 'mass job cull' goes ahead. 'Remaining staff may not be able to cope with the workload. These two aims conflict.'
But a spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions, which oversees jobcentres and will be responsible for the new inspection regime, countered: 'It is right that new management freedoms go hand-in-hand with an inspection regime.'
PFapr2003
