Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), who is leading a public-sector resourcing campaign, believes the cuts will include significant reductions in the use of temporary and agency staff and will force a recruitment freeze across the public sector.
He said: "Agency staff cuts may seem an easy way to reduce cost but the reality is that temporary workers are critical to the delivery of front-line services and short-term cuts shouldn't take the place of long-term sustainable reform.
"Agency staff are a cost-effective solution for public-sector employers because they do not carry the same on-costs, such as pensions, that full time employees do. Instead, they can also be used as and when required rather than being a fixed cost.
"The risk associated with these cuts is that we won't have sufficient cover to deliver public services. There is already a shortage of doctors and nurses in our hospitals, for example."
