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Up to 1,000 jobs at the Department of Trade in Industry’s head office are expected to be cut as part of chancellor Gordon Brown’s spending review.
The cutback, as well as a £160m redirection in the DTI’s business support funding and the relocation of hundreds of jobs out of London, are to be announced by Brown on Monday.
Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt initially offered to cut 600 jobs from the DTI’s 4,200 strong head office and relocate another 900 staff out of London. A Treasury request to lose a further 700 jobs, saving up to £30m a year, was reduced to 400 after Hewitt warned the DTI would be unable to operate effectively.
The department's funding for business support is also to be reduced by £160m. The saving has been made possible by the DTI cutting its portfolio of business support schemes from about 100 to 10. The money is to be redirected back into other DTI operations, including the regional development agencies.
Despite the reductions, the department is understood to have won a 3.2 per cent overall increase in its budget, including a 6.6 per cent rise for science and innovation funding.
DTI insiders said Hewitt considered the budget increase a “real terms” rise and a good deal for the department.
By Paul Yandall
