Support workers facing the axe as police force looks for savings

Around 35 per cent of the civilian workforce of Humberside Police, some 780 people, have been sent letters offering voluntary redundancy.

The force – which won approval earlier this week to build a 33m police headquarters in Hull – is aiming to avoid compulsory redundancies by offering "enhanced" voluntary packages.

However the force declined yesterday to say what its target figure was.

Areas affected include business support, human resources, financial management and support services and administration. Press officers have also been offered voluntary redundancy.

According to the latest figures, Humberside Police employs 2,180 staff compared with 2,085 officers, making it one of only three in the country where warranted officers are in a minority. Police officers, police community support officers and civilian investigators are not affected.

Humberside Police Authority agreed an extra 7m towards the cost of the new building on Clough Road in Hull on Wednesday, to include additional facilities, but said they would make savings, including selling two police stations, Queen's Gardens in the city centre and Tower Grange on Holderness Road, and reducing bills.

The force was not giving interviews yesterday and would not give details of the packages being offered.

But human resources Assistant Chief Officer Ian Watson said: "Humberside Police, like many public sector organisations, faces a challenging financial climate and we are part way through our five-year strategic plan to deliver a leaner, fitter and more effective workforce now and into the future.

"Both Humberside Police and the Police Authority acknowledge that any change cannot have an adverse affect on frontline services, and should improve front line policing, and have been working closely together to achieve this aim.

"We have to reduce our budget by 15m by 2014 and our structured and extensive planned programme to achieve this is well under way.

"The introduction of an enhanced voluntary redundancy scheme, for a limited time period is part of this wider plan."

He added: "It is imperative that we support our staff throughout this process. We recognise that change is unsettling and the HR team has been working hard to ensure that we have a comprehensive support service in place to all members of staff. As well as providing this support, the HR team is well equipped to provide information about other opportunities within the organisation, and any member of staff, can have access to this excellent career and personal development advice.

"If the anticipated levels of successful enhanced voluntary redundancies are achieved, it will negate the need for any further redundancies."

The force is a year into the money-saving "Choices" programme and so far has saved 3m.

Chief Constable Tim Hollis has already agreed to streamline the force's command structure by downgrading, merging and deleting a number of senior posts to make a saving of 813,962. The posts will go through natural wastage as officers retire or move on.

One controversial aspect of the cost-saving measures so far has been the axing of the 1,500-a-year bounty payments to special constables, which will save some 1m over four years.