Union endorses Foreign Secretary's attack on Meyer memoirs - 11 November 2005

The FDA, the union representing senior managers and professionals in Northern Ireland's public services, has condemned the criticisms levelled at members of the Senior Civil Service by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Northern Ireland politicians. PAC's tenth report, published in mid-October, criticised the Department of Employment and Learning's supervision and control of the Jobskills programme. This is the programme, introduced in 1995, which provides training leading to National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) for young people. Martin Furlong, FDA national officer for Northern Ireland, said: "We are disappointed by the criticisms of FDA members by the PAC and Northern Ireland politicians. Regardless of the complexities of this issue, it is unfair to suggest that senior civil servants are inefficient or lack accountability to ministers. "All civil servants in Northern Ireland work under extremely difficult conditions, which are very different to those in the rest of the UK. We believe that rather than be criticised by politicians, from whichever party, senior civil servants deserve respect and support from elected representatives. "We would be happy to meet any politician to discuss this issue. Our members are not part of the problem, but have been at the heart of this ambitious programme to provide training for tens of thousands of young people."