Minister defends MAFF job losses
25 July 2000
Minister defends MAFF job losses
by FWi staff
JUNIOR agriculture minister Joyce Quin has defended the governments decision to axe more than one thousand jobs at the Ministry of Agriculture.
About 1,350 jobs are set to go in a bid to save 30m a year by switching subsidy claims to the internet, it was confirmed on Monday (24 July).
Five regional MAFF offices will be closed or reduced to a token presence as the government sets up a new agency to oversee the new payment system.
Jobs will go at Bristol, Cambridge, Crewe, Nottingham, and Worcester.
However, junior agriculture minister Joyce Quin denied that the redundancies would mean a loss of face-to-face contact between MAFF and farmers.
Many farmers would opt for the new technology, but a personal service would remain for those who preferred face-to-face contact, Ms Quin added.
“The original proposals did talk about simply relying on call centres but ministers rejected that approach, ” she told Farming Today on BBC Radio 4.
She added: “We want to have a frontline regional presence and were committed to that continuing that.”
The cutbacks, which the government claims will streamline the subsidy process, are part of the governments Comprehensive Spending Review.