Wednesday 13 Dec 2017 @ 17:01
FDA
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Public will “bear the consequences” if cuts to prosecution service continue, FDA warns

Ahead of the Scottish Budget, FDA National Officer for Scotland Allan Sampson says: “The Scottish Government must match resource to commitment or accept that the service that can be delivered by the Scottish prosecution service will decline.

“The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has absorbed cuts of almost £35 million in real terms since 2010, with up to 200 jobs already expected to be lost over the next five years under current finance and workforce plans.

“Managers in COPFS are working themselves to the bone to find solutions to these challenges but unfortunately they have been set an unrealistic task.

“Against a backdrop of squeezed funding, falling headcount and an unprecedented increase in serious sexual crimes, the FDA cannot see how COPFS can continue to deliver the high standard of service the people of Scotland deserve. The FDA is calling upon the Finance Secretary to provide sufficient funding for COPFS to reverse these planned jobs cuts and protect our criminal justice system from decline.

“It is the wider public that will bear the consequences of a diminished prosecution service if the Scottish Government fails to take action in Thursday’s Budget.”

Notes for editors

  1. The FDA is the trade union for the UK's senior public servants and professionals at grade HEO and above. FDA membership includes more than 18,000 senior civil servants, diplomats, Government policy advisors, prosecutors, tax professionals, economists, solicitors and other professionals working across Government and the NHS.
  2. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants' union".
  3. The FDA's evidence to the Justice Committee ahead of the Scottish Budget can be viewed online here.
  4. The FDA can be found on Twitter @FDA_union and at www.fda.org.uk. General Secretary Dave Penman tweets as @FDAGenSec.
  5. For further information contact:
  • Matt Foster, Communications Officer, tel: 07982 514 524.
  • Tommy Newell, Communications Officer, tel: 020 7401 5555 or 07738 729 145.

 

Channel website: https://www.fda.org.uk/

Original article link: http://www.fda.org.uk/Media/Public-will-bear-the-consequences-if-cuts-to-prosecution-service-continue.aspx

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