14 July 2006
Civil servants at the Welsh Assembly are to hold emergency talks with the permanent secretary after accusing managers of trying to force through plans to slash staffing levels by 20% over the next three years.
The UK's three leading civil service trade unions – the FDA, Prospect and the Public and Commercial Services union – this week launched a joint campaign to prevent up to 1,200 job cuts in Cardiff and elsewhere.
A workforce strategy discussed at an Assembly management board human resources sub-committee, outlined in documents seen by Public Finance, has revealed that 'year-on-year decreases in [departmental] allocations for 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09 would potentially require an overall reduction in the workforce of 20%'.
The cost-cutting initiative was discussed at a committee meeting on May 22, but the three unions this week claimed that they were not adequately informed of the Assembly's intentions and said they would oppose any job cuts, possibly through strike action.
The unions have written to Assembly permanent secretary Sir John Shortridge, who has agreed to have a meeting with them on July 24.
Referring to the job cuts claim, an Assembly spokeswoman said: 'This is pure speculation on behalf of the trade unions and is not based on any substantive information released by Assembly management.'
Other sources said that the 20% staff reduction figure could merely be viewed as 'indicative' of the savings targeted.
But the HR documents indicate that the programme is under strong consideration, as the Assembly ponders efficiency savings similar to those sought through Whitehall's continuing Gershon programme.
Paul Neilson, FDA national officer, accused the HR department of having forced potential job cuts 'through the back door' at a time when the Assembly was poised to assume new powers that could require more, not fewer, staff.
'We are not against finding efficiencies,' Neilson told PF. 'But a recent report by an all-party committee recommended employing more staff in Wales when the Assembly takes on its new roles.
'We will be opposed to job cuts and will seek full consultation on how to manage any redundancies, relocations and changes to working practices. We find it incredible that we were not fully notified of this plan through the usual channels. We meet with senior managers regularly, yet the HR meeting in May was the first time the issue was raised.'
Jeff Evans, PCS officer in Wales, said: 'Civil servants in Wales are already giving up an average of five hours of their spare time each week to complete their work – these cuts would simply put more pressure on overworked staff.'
Welsh Assembly elections are due next year and, with the Labour Party no longer holding a majority in the Assembly, civil servants believe ministers will want to avoid a lengthy confrontation.
PCS members across Britain, meanwhile, were set to stage a 24-hour walk-out of ten Revenue & Customs processing centres on July 14, in protest over new working practices that the union claims have led to 'deskilling'.
Sleaze watchdog urges inquiry into Prescott's ranch visit
Sir Alistair Graham, Parliament's 'sleaze' watchdog, this week pitched into the debate over Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's visit to a US billionaire's ranch, urging the prime minister to order an inquiry into a potential breach of Whitehall rules.
Graham, the chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said an inquiry was 'the best way to clear the air'.
Opposition MPs rounded on Prescott after it emerged that he had spent a weekend break at a Colorado ranch owned by Philip Anschutz, an applicant for the licence to run the UK's only 'super-casino' under consideration by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Anschutz, who has held several meetings with Prescott, owns the Millennium Dome site in London. MPs have claimed that Prescott's acceptance of his hospitality could breach the ministerial code.
Graham said the government should now invoke powers 'to ask Sir John Bourn [the government's ministerial adviser and head of the National Audit Office] to carry out an investigation.'
Graham's comments followed the publication on July 6 of a letter from Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, in which he revealed that two civil servants — private secretaries to the deputy prime minister — initially failed to declare that they had accompanied Prescott. Such declarations are required under Whitehall rules.
In response to questions from Conservative MP Hugo Swire, O'Donnell wrote: 'The civil servants who accompanied him [Prescott] on this official visit should have declared their stay at the ranch in their departmental register of hospitality.'
O'Donnell added: 'I have ensured that this has now been done. My view is that the officials should have been advised to do so at the time. However, I am satisfied that this has not affected their subsequent advice or actions.'
PFjul2006
