Shadow minister condemns ideologically-driven cuts

The government’s ideologically-driven cuts are undermining the public’s trust in services, according to shadow prisons minister Helen Goodman.
The Bishop Auckland MP told the PCS National Offender Management Service group conference in Brighton (on Monday) that the government was deliberately attacking the public sector because the Conservative Party had a “small state” ideology.
She said: “Big cuts reduce the public’s trust in public services.”
The former civil servant also criticised the government’s attack on pensions.
She said: “I don’t think it’s right that public sector workers on £15,000 should fund the salaries of senior managers. The attack on pensions by this government is one of the most pernicious attacks that is going on at the moment.
“Why should the people who have not contributed to the banking crisis be the ones who feel it in their pockets rather than bankers with very high salaries?”

Anger over privatisation

She said she understood the anger over the planned privatisation of Birmingham prison: “I know people were very upset about the decision on the privatisation of Birmingham prison and obviously I understand that. I fear that the private prisons will be able to choose the prisoners who are easier to handle.
“A prison cannot be treated as an isolated unit, there needs to be a co-operative relationship.”
The shadow cabinet member was highly critical of justice minister Kenneth Clarke’s “breaking the cycle” green paper.
She said Clarke’s target-setting for the prison population “undermines the process of justice”.
She criticised plans to cut sentences for criminals giving early guilty pleas as provided a “real risk of handing over sentencing policy to the criminal” and presented a “real risk of undermining confidence in the justice system of the British people.
“Ken Clarke wants more sentencing in the community but at the same time is cutting probation services by 25%. This is moving in the wrong direction. His slashing across the board is just not credible.”
The speech was followed by a lively question and answer session during which members asked questions on a variety of subjects, including performance-related pay, employers being encouraged to water down employment rights and attack trade unions by David Cameron, “morally repugnant prison privatisation” and the civil service compensation scheme.

Try the PCS website at http://www.pcs.org.uk/