Government to axe 60 more public sector jobs in South Yorkshire

The Wath-upon-Dearne office of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills is expected to shut in summer as the Government withdraws funding for the service.

The news follows last week’s announcement that the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills is to shut its Sheffield office by January 2018, resulting in around 250 jobs being lost in the city.

The Commission is a publicly funded, industry-led organisation that offers guidance on skills and employment issues in the UK. In November’s Spending Review, Chancellor George Osborne announced the Government intended to make £360m of cuts to its adult skills budget by 2020.

He named the UK Commission for Employment and Skills as one of the areas that will be targeted for savings so the core adult skills participation budgets can be protected

A spokesman for the commission said: “Whitehall Departments will be withdrawing their funding for UKCES during the 2016-17 financial year. UKCES is committed to working with ministers and officials across the UK to manage any resulting changes appropriately and to make sure the impact on staff and other stakeholders is minimised. We will be writing to stakeholders shortly to outline the future of UKCES and its work in more detail.”

Lois Austin, PCS Full Time Officer, said: “The decision to close the BIS office in Sheffield and transfer the work to London combined with the decision to close the Wath UK Commission for Employment and Skills demonstrate that cost-cutting and anti-austerity policies of this government override the need for regional economic development. PCS and other trade unions will oppose these closures.”