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The North East | Archive | 2008 | February

Stories for 9 February 2008

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Crime fears as probation staff warned of job cuts

A RAFT of budget cuts have been announced to the probation service in County Durham and Darlington - which could lead to job losses.The Northern Echo obtained a confidential letter sent to staff at the County Durham branch of the National Probation Service, which reveals redundancies could be made to cover a £620,000 budget deficit.Union representatives have warned that any job cuts could affect the supervision of serious criminals and put the public at risk.In the letter to staff, County Durham's chief officer, Russell Bruce, writes: "The stark reality is that we will have fewer staff at the end of 2008/9 than we will have at the beginning."How will we achieve this? A key element will be 'natural wastage' - by this, I mean not filling, except in very exceptional circumstances, any posts that fall vacant."Mr Bruce adds that other solutions could include "agreeing to requests for reduced hours, career breaks, voluntary redundancies and early retirements."A spokesman for the union Unison said County Durham warned that the cuts could lead to a rise in crime."As a union, we will be pushing to prevent these cuts because we don't want the public to be put in danger," he said."Unison are very concerned about the size of this deficit and we will be working closely with the management to prevent redundancies."We are one of the best-performing areas in the country. If there is to be a cut in resources, it is very unlikely we could maintain the kind of service we provide at the moment."Staff are very concerned about this news, not just because they could lose their jobs but also because of the implic-ations that could have on the service."A probation service spokesman said yesterday: "In common with other organisations in the public sector, the National Probation Service County Durham will manage significant financial pressures over the next two to three years."We remain absolutely confident in our ability to manage these challenges in a way which ensures continued delivery of high quality services which contribute significantly to protection of the public, reducing reoffending and the rehabilitation of offenders in County Durham and Darlington." more...

MPs attack 'rush' to axe post offices

THE Post Office last night defended plans to close branches across Teesside amid accusations that its consultation exercise was flawed from the outset.An announcement about which post offices are to be axed is expected early next week.About 200 post offices, mainly in rural areas, are believed to be under threat in the North-East and North Yorkshire.A highly-critical report by MPs warned yesterday that the programme of 2,500 closures nationwide had been rushed and was shrouded in secrecy. The Commons business committee also said crucial factors, such as poor public transport links and high numbers of elderly people, had not been taken into account when identifying the branches to be closed.It also highlighted evidence of "intimidation" of sub-postmasters, by threatening them with a loss of compensation if they criticised the closure plans.The Government provides a £150m grant to protect the post office network. However, this expires next month. With Post Office losses running at £4m a week, cuts are needed to secure the rest of the network.But yesterday's report identified "serious problems" with the way the network is being reduced, following six-week consultations on every proposal.It warned of a widespread "belief that the public consultations are a sham" and attacked the Post Office for shutting out MPs and local authorities.The MPs also called for the watchdog Postwatch to be given the power to block any closures of "commercially viable" outlets and called for any that were "the last shop in the village" to be saved.Committee chairman Peter Luff said: "Consultation has been curtailed and the whole process has been rushed."The secrecy in which the pre-consultation period is shrouded is also creating the impression that, by the time it gets to the public consultation stage, the decision on a post office's future is a fait accompli."It is essential that there is genuine consultation and it is seen as such. Importantly, the needs of communities must be given greater priority when offices are closed."The committee also condemned as "inexcusable" a letter sent to some sub-postmasters, warning they could be visited by undercover staff to ensure they were sticking to "key messages".The letter, which the Post Office later retracted, warned that "any compensation package offered to you shall be subject to you having complied". Condemning "this inexcusable lapse", the report concluded: "The public has a right to expect Government-controlled enterprises to behave in an exemplary way."A spokeswoman for the Post Office refuted the accusations, saying everyone's views had been taken into account."An awful lot of work was done in advance of putting our proposals into consultation, but having said that, we met MPs, we met other elected representatives, and we held public meetings in order to get as much information as we could to help inform our final decisions," she said.Adrian Wales, Post Office network development manager for the North-East, said: "These are difficult decisions which have not been taken lightly. We have considered very carefully all the comments made during the public consultation."In North Yorkshire, 22 offices will be closed, and another 18 will be replaced by as yet unspecified outreach services.A list of the branches under threat was published in November, but despite the consultation, which included 15 meetings and generated 2,600 responses, only one branch on the list, Cold Bath Road, in Harrogate, will remain open.The Post Office has proposed the closure of a further branch, in Aspin Lane, Knaresborough, to take its place.On Tuesday, a provisional list of closures will be released for North Yorkshire's Richmond constituency, east Cleveland and south Durham.Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh was among those who criticised the consultation.She said: "It was flawed from inception."No public meeting was held in the Vale of York. There was no consultation allowed on the principle of closures and there has been absolutely no regard taken to the responses received."Profitable branches are being closed, less profitable ones remaining open, smacking of a hidden agenda of a second or third wave of closures down the line."Nationally, Government criteria states that 95 per cent of the total rural population should be within a mile of a Post Office branch.North Yorkshire County Council leader John Weighell said: "The county council has consistently said that we deplore the loss of another rural service."We would recognise that all these businesses have to be viable, but we believe that many of those proposed for closure by the Post Office are viable."The greatest effect will be on the elderly, who live in the rural villages." more...

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The Northern Echo : News, Sport, Business, Leisure from the North East and North Yorkshire

Stories for 9 February 2008