Wales’ First Minister fears that United Kingdom plans to axe one fifth of its bureaucracy to save money could result in 6,000 people losing their jobs in the Principality.
First Minister, Mark Drakeford said the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Passport Office had strong bases in Wales and reports that both could be privatised would mean further job cuts.
Asked whether the Welsh Government had been informed of the plan, Mr Drakeford (pictured) said the last time he had a discussion with any UK Minister about Public Service jobs “it was to hear that Minister trumpet the intentions to disperse Civil Service jobs around the country and to bring more employment to Wales and other places outside London”.
“What a different story this turns out to be in reality,” Mr Drakeford said.
“The fear is we will take a disproportionately higher number of job cuts here in Wales because faced with difficulties of their own making, the UK Government reaches immediately, in a kneejerk way, for the sort of solutions they’ve tried elsewhere and failed.”
He said the cuts would threaten hardworking people who done so much during the pandemic to provide a public service.
“You can be sure that we will be communicating directly to Ministers that if they decide Wales is to be the testbed for this plan, they will find a strong opponent here in the Welsh Government,” Mr Drakeford said.
“Certainly, if they think we will take a disproportionate share of job cuts, how much that will fly in the face of any claims this Government makes about levelling up parts of the country outside the south-east of England,” the First Minister said.
Cardiff, 19 May 2022
