Public sector cuts 'threaten the North East'

Jan 26 2010 by William Green, The Journal

But he claimed it was “absurd” the NHS and education should be spared, saying: “To simply exempt the two most well-funded services from the kind of pain that will be inflicted on everyone else seems to me to be a mistake.”

The NAO boss made it clear jobs could go because they made up a “significant” part of the bill for the public sector.

“If a huge part of your cost base is headcount, you are not going to reduce the cost without taking people out,” said Mr Morse.

He added: “A significant part of cost drivers in the public sector, not the only part, are people.

“It is very unlikely that will be excluded from how you achieve serious cost reduction.”

Newcastle Central MP Jim Cousins said there were opportunities to relocate civil jobs out of London, but added: “The economic base of Newcastle is at risk with big public sector cuts.” The Labour MP also questioned the Audit Commission’s effectiveness and suggested Mr Bundred take a 50% pay cut.

TUC regional secretary Kevin Rowan said unions were “anxious” about jobs with one in three local workers employed by the public sector.

“It is not just the people who work in the public sector, it is the impact on the private sector right across the board. We are encouraging the Government to be cautious about how they start bringing that public deficit down and be sensitive to the social and economic impact,” he said.