- Conference
- Police Staff Service Group Conference 2005
- Date
- 4 February 2005
- Decision
- Carried
Conference is extremely concerned that the Home Office, ACPO and APA are making decisions on the Government’s Efficiency Strategy for the Police Service without proper consultation with UNISON or other representative bodies. Conference notes in particular:
1) the Home Office has refused to set up machinery to enable a social partnership approach to police efficiency
2) the Home Office has not published its Police Efficiency Technical notes with the same openness as other departments
3) this lack of engagement makes police staff fear that efficiency is something that will be “done to them” despite guarantees from the Office of Government Commerce to the contrary.
4) the emphasis in the Governments’ efficiency drive on moving police resources from the so-called ‘back office’ to the so-called ‘front-line’ undervalues the contribution of those many thousands of non-operational Police Staff
5) the efficiency review threatens jobs and services through:
a) regionalisation of services
b) outsourcing and privatisation
c) rationalisation of corporate services like finance, HR, Legal Services etc.
6) efficiencies are confirmed to be delivered via reductions in overtime earnings and further attacks on sickness absence
7) the efficiency strategy may link, after the election, to a radical set of proposals to amalgamate some forces and/or corporate services to deliver higher efficiency gains for the Government
With these threats in mind, Conference asks the Service Group Executive to:-
A) continue to make the case to the Home Office for proper social partnership on the Police Efficiency Strategy
B) ask the Home Office for full disclosure of Police Service Technical Efficiency Notes
C) oppose any attempt by the Home Office, ACPO or APA to drive through efficiencies via crude cuts to the Police Staff establishment
D) persuade the Home Office to incorporate a strong workforce modernisation emphasis to the Efficiency Strategy to help grow Police Staff numbers and career opportunities
E) defend the interests of members working in police force corporate services
F) monitor and report to branches on any inter-force collaboration projects