Unions attack 'misleading' £28m savings claim

In a strongly-worded joint statement released this morning, the unions say that Senator Philip Ozouf has been less than upfront about the size of the 2012 underspend – the cash allocated for 2012 but not spent.

Senator Ozouf declared the underspend to be £27.6 million but in the last paragraph of the statement, he added: ‘I am also pleased to report that ‘contingencies of £28.4 million can continue to be maintained at a realistic level.’

The unions have responded: ‘Public sector unions are appalled that Senator Ozouf managed to disguise the actual underspend of States departments as being £27.6 million when the reality is it was in fact £55.9 million.’