HC Deb 22 July 2004 vol 424 cc433-4W
Chris Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether the proposed job reductions in his Department will be achieved through(a) voluntary and (b) compulsory redundancies; [186066]

(2) what the timescale is for job reductions in his Department; [186068]

(3) if his Department will take part in cross-departmental negotiations concerning civil servant job losses to ensure that past and future job losses do not fall disproportionately on any individual community. [186069]

Maria Eagle

Following the Spending Review announcement, detailed business and staffing plans continue to be developed across all parts of the Department in order to manage the overall reduction of 30,000 posts over the four years to March 2008.

At this stage of planning it is too early to quantify the likely number of voluntary or compulsory redundancies. Compulsory redundancies, if required, will be a last resort after all other options have been considered.

The Department is fully engaged with the Cabinet Office to ensure cross Government co-ordination of staff redeployment and surplus management activity is effectively managed.

Chris Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contingency plans are in place to ensure that his Department's staffing levels are sufficient to cope with an increase in unemployment; and whether a need for additional staff would be met from the(a) public and (h) private sectors. [186070]

Maria Eagle

The Department's workforce strategy and planned staffing levels take account of key economic assumptions provided by HM Treasury. The current assumptions suggest that unemployment levels will remain static over the next four years.

The Department's workforce strategy will be kept under review to account for any changes in these economic assumptions and the potential impact on staffing requirements in particular parts of the Department.

Mr. Meale

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the estimated number of Civil Service jobs expected to be lost to the Department arising from the Spending Review is; [186171]

(2) which local offices are included in his Department's closure programme arising out of the Spending Review; and what the timetable for closures is. [186173]

Maria Eagle

As announced in the Spending Review, the Department proposes to realise a net reduction of 30,000 posts by March 2008.

Detailed business and staffing plans continue to be developed across all parts of the Department in order to manage the proposed reductions. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State issued a written statement on 29 June 2004, Official Report, columns 8–9WS, outlining the first phase of this transformation. We will inform the House as further planning decisions are made.