Civil service staff cut by 39 per cent
West Lothian has lost 39 per cent of its full-time civil service jobs since 2010.
And this figure could rise if HMRC continue with plans to close their Bathgate and Livingston offices – a move slammed by local politicians.
The UK Government’s figures show that, in 2010, West Lothian employed 2470 full-time civil servants – but that number has now dropped to 1630.
Figures also reveal that there has been a 34 per cent decrease in the civil service workforce – a loss of 840 jobs – which includes permanent contracts, both full-time and part-time.
The 39 per cent cut in West Lothian is higher than the national average ( not including London) of 26.8 per cent. It is also significantly higher than London figures, which show the English capital’s cuts were considerably less – 10.5 per cent – within the same time period.
Hannah Bardell, MP for Livingston, said the issue was something she had raised many times in the House of Commons.
The SNP member said she was concerned about the impact the cuts are having locally.
She said: “These cuts in civil service jobs are disproportionately affecting Scotland and West Lothian and come at a time when austerity is biting hard.
“We are already facing the loss of more than 1000 further civil service jobs in HMRC, if it moves to Edinburgh, and the closure of our local DWP office in Broxburn.
She added: “While we are fighting to protect jobs and workers’ rights and calling for investment in public services, this is yet more evidence of how damaging the Tory government is to our local economy and community.”
Neil Findlay, Labour MSP for Lothian, said the area has been at the “forefront” of job losses.
He said: “As chair of the civil service union, the PCS [Public and Commercial Services Union] parliamentary group, I have been very involved in the fight to protect civil service jobs.
“In West Lothian, we have been at the forefront of job losses and the plans to merge tax offices and close job centres will make things much worse both for local people and the local economy.
“We need everyone to get on board our campaign to protect these vital local jobs.”
Martyn Day, SNP MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, said that outsourcing civil service jobs to companies like Concentrix has caused chaos.
Concentrix are a private US contractor, hired by HMRC to carry out Tax Credit checks, who have come under considerable fire in recent times with HMRC saying their contract will not be renewed later this year.
Mr Day said: “The number of civil service jobs should reflect the service required by the sector.
“If demand goes down there needs to be a realignment of services.
“However, what we have seen locally is outsourcing to the private sector and ensuing chaos. Concentrix was a prime example of this.”
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, the department responsible for the civil service, said: “We constantly review and monitor the size of the civil service workforce to make sure it is the right size to meet the Government’s priorities.
“We are working hard at a national level with other government departments to see what opportunities could arise in the shortto-medium term in moving more roles out of London to areas around the UK.”
In West Lothian, we have been at the forefront of job losses