Culture dept could lose half of staff

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Around 50 per cent of staff at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) could lose their jobs by 2014/15 if cuts proposed by the department go ahead. The cuts are more than the 25 per cent to 40 per cent that the government has been discussing.

As well as suggesting workforce reductions of between 35 per cent and 50 per cent to the Treasury, DCMS has hinted that it could vacate its offices close to Trafalgar Square and move into another building that the department already uses.

Permanent secretary Jonathan Stephens said: "We want to maintain and enhance the best of DCMS through this – a committed high performing department which values and motivates its staff and is recognised as such in our sectors and by the rest of Whitehall."

The 50 per cent cuts are proposed to happen after 2012 to protect the Olympics and Paralympics but the Public and Commercial Services union's general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "DCMS management are living in a fantasy world if they think they can maintain services and motivate staff while cutting the department down by half. We do not accept the need for these cuts that will inevitably damage the ability of staff to provide quality, effective support to the artistic and cultural life of the UK."