“We are seeking to review and rebalance the amount of paid time off provided to undertake trade union duties, and to review the level, frequency and cost of providing paid time off for trade union activities. This consultation covers all types of trade union representatives but does not seek to change the statutory basis for these duties and activities. We also wish to review the use of  facilities by trade union representatives e.g. telephones, photocopying and use of office  accommodation, to ensure it is appropriate and represents value for money for the taxpayer.”

Rebalance? Repayment of the £36m unions siphoned from Whitehall budgets this year would be more appropriate. Either way it looks like the full time Pilgrims are doomed…

Mad Frankie Maude’s long-awaited consultation into the absurd degree in which the taxpayer funds union agitators in Whitehall is set to go live any minute. Developing…

UPDATE: For background on Guido’s 18-month campaign to get to this stage, see  a round up here.

UPDATE II: The taxpayer funded union’s lobbyists are preparing a barrage of submissions.

Pilgrims are back on the agenda. Guido understands that the long awaited consultation into taxpayer-funded trade union officials will be announced next week. For the first time a clear picture of the extent to which unions fleece the taxpayer in Whitehall alone has been revealed.

248 civil servants have been identified who spend 100% of their paid time on union business. There are at least 6,800 civil servants who do part-time trade union work across the civil service.

And the grand total? The annual cost to the taxpayer is £36,000,000. It has been pointed out that this is the equivalent of the salary of over 900 nurses or the cost of over 10,000 primary school places.

A Whitehall source said:

“Francis Maude demanded that departments collect proper, accurate information on the numbers and costs of taxpayer-funded trade union pilgrims. This information was never available before and, unsurprisingly, initial estimates understated the case. No doubt Labour didn’t want to antagonise their union paymasters by monitoring union activity properly. It’s simply wrong that taxpayers are paying Civil Servants to spend years doing nothing but union activity instead of the jobs they are supposed to do.”

Not for long…

Breaking: Understand the consultation into Pilgrims – taxpayer funded trade union officials – will start next week.—
Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) July 03, 2012

From the first of next month it will be a legal requirement for councillors to declare payments from unions. If they lie it will be a criminal offence. Guido has a feeling that you’ll be surprised at the extent to which unions secretly bankroll Labour, even at a local level.

Department of Local Government sources stress the importance of this move to the ongoing fight against Pilgrims – taxpayer-funded trade union officials, who regular readers will remember Guido campaigning against. Given that councils vote on how many of these money wasting staff members there can be, it’s going to be interesting to see who is pulling the strings.

Other developments in the fight include:

“· Francis Maude will shortly be publishing a policy paper proposing to scale back so-called ‘facility time’ in the Civil Service back to private sector levels – rather than gold-plating legal requirements.
· The Department for Communities and Local Government will follow through in due course with guidance to councils, giving them legal assurance and practical help on how they can review and cut back both facility time and the provision of subsidies like free office facilities.
· In local government, these matters should be debated openly in Full Council – with councillors declaring any prejudicial interests, such as receiving payments in kind from unions at election time.”

The Cabinet Office have saying these moves are imminent for months, but Guido gets the impression gears are turning this morning…

Guido couldn’t help but laugh at the news that Tim Farron has invited enemies-of-the-people Progress to the LibDem party conference. Farron has written Andrew Adonis, cc’ing the nations media:

“I have noted the moves from the GMB and others within the Labour Party to sideline Progress and force its members out of the party. This is a great shame. I do not mean to patronise you or your members by suggesting your response should be to join the Liberal Democrats… (but) we are also a party that is prepared to work with others for the good of the country…You and your members are welcome to join us and I’m sure the debate will be all the richer for it.”

Given that Progress are a bunch of right-wingers it’s hardly likely they would want to break bread with an old lefty like Farron. Maybe if he promised not to tell any jokes…

Labour’s neutered General Secretary Iain McNicol seems to be breaking ranks from the party leadership and backing strikes. Yesterday he promised the GMB conference that Labour will be out on the streets in support of the next demonstration. The next planned action is the Unite bus drivers strikes during the Games. Yet Ed said any strike over the Olympic period would be “unacceptable and wrong”…

According to today’s Morning Star Tom Watson received a jubilant standing ovation from hundreds of delegates for his war on the press. He told them that “there have been some dark and very lonely nights since News International started coming for me”. The best ones write themselves…

UPDATE: Labour sources get in touch to point out that McNicol was referring to a TUC day of action in autumn.

The GMB Congress has descended into an even bigger farce than expected after it passed a motion to outlaw Blairite pressure group Progress from the Labour Party. In a frothing attack, the GMB slammed Progress for accepting the need for spending cuts, undermining Ken Livingstone’s campaign and briefing against Ed Miliband to the press. The decision of Progress patron Lord Sainsbury to stop donating to the party might also have something to do with it… 

The motion, which lays into Miliband and Balls for failing to bring about a socialist revolution, appears to be part of a summer putsch of centre-left Labour figures. At least this means Dan Hodges will have some company. Their ten point lead in the polls should see Labour go into their most buoyant conference in years, yet it seems the left are determined to turn it in to a witch-hunt…

UPDATE: Dan Hodges was for three years up until 2003 the GMB’s director of communications.

I would strike over nurses being sacked. I would strike over reduction in services being dangerous for patients. I can't strike for (1/2)—
Keir Shiels (@keirshiels) May 30, 2012

(2/2) the idea that some of the best paid people in the public sector are going to have to economise. Sorry if that idea offends.—
Keir Shiels (@keirshiels) May 30, 2012

The average GP earned £105,700 in 2009-10.

Guido hears that tonight’s local election Tory Party Election Broadcast will have a direct pop at Pilgrims: specifically Ed Miliband’s council who pay some £186,877 for seven full-time taxpayer-funded trade union officials. Guido knows that Frankie Maude has had a tough couple of weeks, but he’d like to gently remind him about that promised consultation that has yet to materialise…