300,000 public sector jobs hang in the balance

By Jennifer Painter / @jenpainter

Research conducted by The Times predicts at least 300,000 Whitehall and other public sector jobs will be lost under the Government’s imminent spending cuts. It has been estimated that this figure could rise to 700,000 affecting ‘tens of thousands of health service managers as well as many thousands of doctors and nurses.’

The article, written by The Times Political Editor states:

Three out of the 10 strategic health authorities have disclosed that they will reduce their headcounts by a total of 30,132, an average of 8.7%. If these cuts were replicated nationwide, the total job losses would amount to 120,000.

A similar analysis of 75 local authorities suggests that at least 100,000 council workers across the country will lose their jobs.

Thousands of police officers and their civilian support staff will lose their posts, with the Metropolitan police alone forecasting 445 job cuts.

About 20,000 jobs will be lost at the Ministry of Defence as the department faces a demand to reduce its administrative costs by 25%. Ministry insiders say the cuts are set to hit military personnel, including some frontline soldiers.

It also suggests the organisations that will be targeted by the “bonfire of quangos”:

The organisations set to be axed include the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency, which employs 723 people, the South East England Development Agency, which has 270 staff, and the 40strong Infrastructure Planning Commission.

The Skills Funding Agency, which employs 1,200 people, is also likely to be closed, along with the Higher Education Funding Council for England. They will be replaced by a new Council for Adult Skills and Higher Education.

Vince Cable’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will bear the brunt of the initial cuts, making savings of £900m.

Read the full article here.