Labour letting the axe fall on North Wales Civil Servants

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Eleanor Burnham <info@eburnham.org.uk>

Labour letting the axe fall on North Wales Civil Servants - Burnham

November 17, 2006 11:07 AM

Eleanor Burnham AM has condemned the government's move to cut 350 civil service jobs across North Wales. Along with her fellow party members, Ms Burnham has accused Labour Assembly Ministers of failing to stand up for Wales, following the projected loss of 977 jobs in customs and tax offices across the country.

350 of those job losses will be in Ms Burnham's region, including Porthmadog, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl and Bangor. Management at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced the job cuts in Wales to take place over the next five years so as to meet efficiency targets set by Chancellor Gordon Brown in 2004.

Ms Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, said: "These cuts have nothing to do with providing a better service to Welsh people and everything to do with arbitrary targets set by the Chancellor.

"This type of crude 'efficiency saving' makes no sense, especially in parts of the region which already have low levels of employment, and will see a worsening of the service provided to people claiming tax credits and to the small business sector.

"This announcement contradicts the promises Rhodri Morgan made at the Wales TUC Conference last May, when he told delegates that there would be a "net increase" in the number of civil servants employed in Wales.

"It seems that the Labour Government doesn't care about the devastating impact that these job cuts will have on some of the most deprived areas of the North. The decision will undermine the efforts of the Assembly Government to regenerate local economies and yet the First Minister is just standing by and letting the cuts happen."

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