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Efficiency savings are spending cuts warn PCS

22 April 2009

PCS branded the efficiency savings announced in today?s budget as spending cuts which would damage services and lead to job cuts.

Civil and public services have already been hit by spending cuts in real terms and ‘efficiency savings’ which have lead to over 80,000 job loses and hundreds of office closures.

Key areas such as tax, jobcentres and justice have all been affected. 25,000 jobs are to go and 200 offices to close in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 2011.

500 jobcentres and benefit offices have closed over the last 5 years hampering the government’s ability to respond to recession and the justice system is in danger of delays and backlogs as the Ministry of Justice faces a year on year cut to its budget in real terms.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "With this budget the government have conveniently forgotten their promise that going further than the Gershon efficiency review in 2004 would put the delivery of frontline services at risk.

"The efficiency savings announced today, like the others before them, are spending cuts which will result in job cuts and poorer services.

"The Chancellor’s claim that the government won’t cut their way out of recession will ring hollow with 4,000 people working in the Land Registry who are in danger of losing their jobs.

"The Chancellor had the opportunity to spell out how he would chase the £21.5 billion worth of uncollected tax and £25 billion lost through tax evasion as well as stopping the billions wasted on consultants and failed PFI projects.

"Instead he gave the green light to a sell off of the family silver by accepting recommendations from Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation guru.

"We have seen the impact of botched privatisations and IT outsourcing with Rail Track, the Criminal records Bureau and Tax Credits. The result has seen the government bailing out the private sector at a cost of millions to the taxpayer.

"Whilst the extra £1.7 billion for Jobcentres is a welcome step in the right direction, we shouldn’t forget that over 500 jobcentres and benefit offices have closed over the last five years due to ‘efficiency savings’.

"Also that the extra staff already promised for Jobcentres will only take staffing levels to where they were in 2005.

"As the recession bites deeper and more and more people become reliant on public services, the government should be investing in public services rather cutting them.

"Demand in the economy needs to be boosted through increased spending and investment rather than spending cuts.”

 

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