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MAGINNESS COMMENDS RITCHIE'S SOCIAL SECURITY PROPOSALS SDLP North Belfast MLA Alban Maginness MLA said his colleague Margaret Ritchie has produced proposals for reform of social security delivery which show that strong leadership can still be thoughtful and considerate.
He said: “Margaret Ritchie inherited proposals for a Strategic Business Review of the Social Security Agency which she has rejigged with a human face. She is introducing radical changes to give better service, but in her case this is not code for replacing local staff with a call centre. I welcome her very clear statement that there will be no offices closing, no loss of frontline services and no job losses – in fact she is recruiting staff.
“Her department is running a model of reform which other government agencies could learn a lot from. Where the functions of local offices change, the vast majority of staff will remain at their present locations. Where redeployment is necessary, staff are assured that they will not be sent unreasonable distances and personal circumstances will be taken into account.
“Far
too often, changes in public service delivery turn out to be service
cuts and adoption of new technology involves a reduction in human
contact. Margaret Ritchie has shown that the strong leadership
needed to make difficult and challenging decisions can still be
thoughtful and considerate.” |
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