§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 1 April 2004,Official Report, column 1638W, on staff reduction, (1) what discussions he has had with trade unions regarding plans for a net reduction of 30,000 civil servants in his Department; [171423]
(2) by what date he intends to have reduced civil servant jobs in his Department by 30,000;. [171424]
(3) whether the intended net reduction of 30,000 civil servants in his Department will include the reduction of 18,000 for which plans have been in development since 2002; [171425]
1087W(4) what the baseline figure is for the intended net reduction of 30,000 civil servants in his Department; [171426]
(5) if he will break down the net reduction of 30,000 civil servants in his Department by reductions made through (a) the new business model being rolled out in Jobcentre Plus, (b) the Pensions Transformation Programme and reductions in staffing in the Pension Service, (c) the introduction of child support reform and (d) savings in back office functions. [171427]
§ Maria EagleThe 30,000 reductions are part of a four year programme to 2008 which we are discussing with our unions and include the 18,000 reductions previously outlined in 2002. We met with our Trade Unions on 6 April and 13 May and have a further meeting planned in May.
It is too early to define how the reductions will be profiled across each part of the Department and its businesses. We are using our current staffing level of around 130,000 as the baseline for the reductions.