Mr. Bernard Gloster:

It is a matter of public record that I have said for quite a long time that service providers that are section 39 agencies are critical to our service delivery platform. There is a fundamental issue for a number of them that had been paying staff according to public sector pay scales for a long time and which were funded by us to do so. On the introduction of FEMPI, that system was retracted and, when others had their conditions restored, these staff did not because they were not technically public servants. That is what the strike is based on. There is an offer of 5% on the table which also includes 3% retrospective to last April. That has been rejected. Obviously, talks will continue to be active between the Departments and the unions representing these staff. We are not the employer so we cannot negotiate directly on pay but we are doing everything to work with them to ensure the best continuity we can and we do give these agencies quite a lot of additional support to keep them sustainable.