Unions representing forensic scientists and other professionals employed by the Forensic Science Service have welcomed the inquiry by the Commons home affairs select committee into the decision to close three FSS laboratories.
Today, the committee will hear evidence from Bill Griffiths, the chief executive of the FSS, on the closures, which were announced at the beginning of June, with the potential loss of some 500 of the organisation's 1,300 jobs.
Mike Sparham, a negotiator with the Prospect union, which represents staff at the FSS, will also be giving evidence to the hearing. "The fact is that although the Home Office says it can't direct the FSS, it foots the bill and we think it must be in their interest to get this right," he commented.
"We welcome the interest of the committee because we feel the FSS hasn't got this right and we want to get that message across. The company needs to become profitable, but we do not think it should be so drastic. The proposed cuts will reduce the company almost in half."
FSS is wholly owned by the government and Prospect argues that the proposed closures will result in the lack of any public service forensic science provider west of Birmingham and the loss of the only laboratory in Wales. The union believes the restructuring plans are geared towards a future sell-off of FSS.
The company is in a three-month consultation period over its plans, which will end in early September.
